For the Love of a Daughter
by Zairihannah
Summary: All of the Originals are alive and well, and the gang thought it couldn't get any worse. Then a strange girl comes to town, bearing strange abilities and a questionable past not even she knows about, and has the five most powerful vampires in the world falling for her. Mystic Falls may never be the same again. Contains family bonding, mild Stelena, hints of Klaroline, and others.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: I haven't written anything in a while for this site, but I have a new obsession: _The Vampire Diaries!_ Both the books and the series. I particularly love the Originals, although they will not show up for a while. This is supposed to be written right around 2/13, but I might not follow events exactly if they don't fit my story or I can't remember them. However, Esther never wakes up, because none of the Original siblings will die in this story, and she was the cause of their deaths.**

**Certain things from the books I'm going to bring into this, although this is based on the show. Damon's going to have "fathomless black eyes," just because I have a hard time picturing him with blue, and he's going to be a little more like he is in the books. (I am a little obsessed with book-Damon.) Also, I am going to use the thought communication from the books, because it's cool and I can. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**The Vampire Diaries**_** or any characters affiliated with it. I do, however, own the characters of E.J. and Marcus. E.J. especially is an original creation and cannot be used in any way, shape, or form without my permission.**

**Open for Business**

"This is the place?" The building was huge and loomed up before her like a menacing dragon. She felt that she would be swallowed whole if she walked through that front door. She clutched her iPhone in her shaking hands as she stared down at it. The text from Gloria read: "I've asked Marcus to take you to the Boarding House upon your arrival. I trust your flight and bus ride went smoothly? He'll pick you up and take you there. Everything will be okay, sweetie. I love you."

E.J. sniffed and hit the power button angrily, fighting back tears. How long ago had she received that text? Too long ago. Back when her best friend and godmother had still been alive. The girl hitched in a breath and shoved the phone back into the back pocket of her white denim shorts.

Marcus stood beside her awkwardly, holding a suitcase in each hand. She had called him the night before and told him that she had changed her mind. Gloria had wanted her to come to this town for a reason. For what, she had no idea. "To find yourself, darling," Gloria had said. "Sometimes you have to get a little lost before you can figure out who you really are."

_Gloria wanted me to come here_, E.J. thought. _She was hiding something, I just know it! She thought I could find the answers to all my questions by just coming to this backwater town in Virginia I've never heard of._

Mystic Falls.

"E.J.?" The werewolf's words startled the fourteen-year-old girl out of her thoughts and she jerkily nodded at him. Marcus smiled kindly and strode up the walkway, hefting her bags up to keep them from dragging on the ground.

E.J. trotted toward the trunk of the cab and reached in to grab her last piece of luggage. The wooden box was ornately decorated, made of a dark wood that E.J. couldn't quite place. Gloria had given it to her for her fifth birthday, and she had never parted with it since. The witch had said that the box would open itself when she had discovered "her true self," whatever that meant.

"Find out who I am," E.J. muttered. "And the box will open. I get it, Gloria, really. Must you always be so cryptic?"

"The journey is just as important as the end, darling." E.J. turned slowly and glared at the African-American woman standing behind her. For a moment, her scowl remained, but it soon broke and was replaced by a small smile.

"It's not the same, you know," E.J. said, ignoring the woman's statement.

"What isn't?" the woman asked kindly.

"You're dead, Gloria," E.J. snapped. "Nothing will ever be the same." The girl glared when the ghost slowly approached her and laid a comforting hand on her shoulder, a hand she could not feel no matter how hard she concentrated. "Why was I cursed with the ability to see the dead, anyway? I didn't even come back from the dead."

Gloria laughed shortly. "I honestly do not know, sweetheart." Her expression sobered and she sadly shook her head. "All I know is that you must discover who you are, and this is exactly where you need to be to do that."

"What does that even mean?!" E.J. demanded, exasperated.

"Miss?" She spun around, hand pressed to her heart, and panted up at the man standing behind her. Marcus looked concerned as he gently removed her hand and felt her forehead. "You were talking to yourself again, miss," the large, dark-haired man murmured, half out of concern and half out of wariness.

"I'm fine, Marcus," E.J. sighed, shaking off his hand and hefting her box in her arms. "I guess I'd better go in there, huh?"

"No one's home," Marcus replied dejectedly. "You will not be able to enter."

E.J. sighed and held the box in one hand, running the other through her hair. "Well, isn't that just convenient? I'll just follow you up and you can take this in then, 'kay?"

Marcus smiled and nodded. "It's incredible, isn't it?" he asked as they started up the short walkway. E.J. only grunted in reply, shifting the heavy box in her arms and shaking her curly chestnut hair. It now fell well past her waist, and she was just about ready to go to a beauty parlor to get it done. Gloria had always done it before, but now . . .

"Here we are!" Marcus exclaimed and stepped over the threshold, beaming as he showcased her the house. "What do you think?"

E.J. followed him inside and gently dropped the box beside her other luggage, shaking out her arms. "It's a really old house, Marcus."

Marcus rolled his eyes. "You just don't appreciate old architecture, E.J. You'll just have to wait until the residents get back before you can even enter to appreciate it."

At that moment, E.J. froze and glanced over her shoulder where she could clearly see the doorsill. A doorsill that she had stepped over, no problem. "Er," she giggled nervously, "I already did."

Marcus swung around and stared at her, eyes wide.

E.J. swallowed, her voice becoming increasingly higher as she asked, "Who exactly did you say lives here again?"

TVDTVDTVDTVDTVD

The Grill was noisier than usual. The smell of human and alcohol satiated the air, but Damon Salvatore didn't mind. He reveled in the environment, especially in hearing every pump of blood in every human body pressed around him, particularly the feminine variety.

Unfortunately, he could not enjoy himself, because a certain very dead little brother of his had just given him some very ill-received news.

"You did what?!" Damon slammed his fist on the table, not even startling a very drunk Alaric, who was drowning his sorrows quite literally. If Alaric ever had his _own_ kids, Damon would hate to see what would happen to him.

Stefan was sitting erect across from him, oak-green eyes uncompromising of his emotions. "Mrs. Lockwood called and asked if we could put her up for a while. I don't see what the big deal is. We _are_ living in a boarding house, Damon."

"That's beside the point!" the older Salvatore sputtered. "We can't just have humans living under our noses! Have you forgotten what we are and just what we have in our house? Or how about the friends and occasional mortal enemies that drop by from time to time?"

Stefan had known Damon wouldn't like it, but he frankly didn't care. How much trouble could a fourteen-year-old girl be, anyway? They could just compel her if she saw or heard anything she shouldn't, no problem.

But, knowing that his brother would never listen to reason, Stefan decided to use his trump card. "She's paying rent." Damon paused in his tirade and blinked at him, mouth slightly ajar. "A _lot_ of rent."

For a moment, Damon contemplated his brother's words before the tension in his shoulders slowly lessened and he settled back against the booth they were sitting at. The anger slowly faded away to be replaced by contentment. "What did you say this kid's name was, again?" Damon asked, sounding more cheerful than he had in days.

TVDTVDTVDTVDTVD

"Why didn't you tell me?!" E.J. was furious. Her best friend, godmother, and supposed most trusted confidant had just arranged for her to live in a living mouse trap. E.J. wasn't sure what to think of these new turn of events. The Boarding House was occupied by vampires? That was the only explanation for her being able to enter in without permission. No living residents.

Gloria sighed and swirled her glass of bourbon, taking a dainty sip. How in the world a ghost could touch physical objects and so closely interact with them, E.J. didn't know, but it unnerved her a little. "No need to be so dramatic, honey," Gloria finally spoke, for the first time since E.J. had called her. "If I had thought it a problem, I would have told you."

"Who are they?" E.J. demanded testily.

Gloria sighed and closed her eyes. "The Salvatore brothers, not that that means anything to you."

E.J. glared as she plopped down on the expensive-looking couch beside the ghost, eyes hard and unyielding. "Do the best you can."

Gloria looked to be on the verge of sighing again, louder this time, but a darkened glare from her goddaughter encouraged her to quit stalling. "I don't know much, but I know a little. Damon and Stefan Salvatore, lovers of the same woman, a vampire. She played with them both and eventually turned them both. I don't know any more than that."

"What was her name?" E.J. asked coldly. Gloria knew that E.J. was incapable of turning her humanity off—why, she didn't know—but chills still ran down her spine at the girl's tone. E.J. was no monster, but she was deadly.

"I don't know," Gloria lied, but she faltered in her speech, and E.J. caught the catch in her voice.

Without warning, E.J. leaned forward, right into the ghost's face, and asked once more in a quieter, harder tone, her pupils dilating, "What was her name?"

Gloria blinked. "Katherine Pierce." She promptly cursed and glared at the girl who defied all logic. "How can you compel me?" she hissed in indignation.

E.J. cocked her head and shrugged. "No idea." Then she blinked. "Wait a minute. Didn't you say 'Katherine' was the name of the vampire who killed you?" Gloria froze and started to shake her head no, before she paused and finally nodded in defeat.

E.J. promptly leapt up and screamed, "That slimy bitch! I'll rip her head off!" E.J. spun in a circle and punched her fist toward the far wall. Half a second later, an invisible force smashed into the wall and formed an enormous crater, demolishing the fireplace.

"I don't think your hosts will like that," Gloria quipped. She was a ghost, why was she scared? E.J. couldn't—no, wouldn't!—hurt her.

E.J. blinked and cursed, falling down to the sofa heavily, cradling her head in her hands. She moaned in pain and turned pleading eyes to her best friend, godmother, confidant—and teacher. "Help me?" the girl asked weakly.

The ghost smiled warmly and took the girl's hand. "Repeat after me."

TVDTVDTVDTVDTVD

Damon, leading a now sober but severely hung over Alaric, and Stefan returned to a quiet home. Damon coaxed Alaric over to the couch where he laid him down, none too gently, and swiftly hurried off to the kitchen to make his friend a cup of coffee. Stefan slowly wandered over to the fireplace, blinking at it slowly.

Something seemed off about it. Like it had been blown up and put back together. "Get a grip on yourself, Stefan," Stefan mumbled to himself. "You're just hallucinating."

"Hi!" The vampire spun around in terror to face the speaker, breathing hard but heart still remaining still, as it had for one hundred and forty-five years. He was confused for only a moment before his eyes slowly traveled upwards to meet the gaze of a chestnut-haired girl grinning down at him from upstairs.

"Sorry to scare you," the girl giggled, running down the stairs two at a time, swinging herself around the banister, and bouncing over to Stefan. "I'm E.J." She stuck out her hand and grinned up at Stefan.

Stefan immediately relaxed and mentally slapped himself for starting so easily. "Oh, you must be our new boarder, then." E.J. nodded eagerly. "My name's Stefan."

"Salvatore number one?" E.J. asked teasingly. Stefan might have imagined it, but it seemed that the girl's grin had wavered for a moment.

"Er, yes," Stefan answered hesitantly. "My brother, Damon, is in the kitchen getting our friend Alaric some coffee." He nodded his head at the passed-out blonde human, who groaned and turned over, away from them, as if he knew he was being watched.

E.J.'s grin finally subsided and she simply nodded. "Okay then. Sorry about the fireplace, by the way." The moment the words left her mouth, she winced as if she were in pain, scrunched her nose up, and blinked up at him.

Stefan stared at her. "What's wrong with the fireplace?"

The odd expression promptly disappeared and the grin reappeared with a vengeance. "Nothing!" the girl giggled, sounding nervous. "Gotta go, 'bye! Nice meeting you!"

Before Stefan could say a word, she had bolted up the stairs, three at a time this time, and disappeared into one of the rooms down the far hallway.

Damon reappeared with a coffee mug in both hands. "What was that?" he asked. Stefan couldn't tell if he were actually interested or simply making conversation to lessen the oppressive tension blanketing the Salvatore Boarding House.

"E.J.'s here," Stefan answered simply.

"Who?" Damon held one of the mugs out to Alaric, who turned over and accepted it without a word, and plopped down in one of the armchairs, sipping from the other mug himself.

Stefan rolled his eyes to the ceiling. "E.J. Hemmings. The girl who's now living with us." Damon still looked blank. "The girl who's giving us a fat paycheck to eat and sleep here?"

"Ah!" Damon held up one finger and grinned. "Now I know who you mean. What was that all about then?"

Stefan shrugged, not sure how much Damon had actually been paying attention to. "I honestly don't know. She said something about the fireplace, then got all weird—" He suddenly paused. "Wait, why am I telling you all of this? You don't even care."

Damon grinned up at him over the mug of what Stefan guessed to be piping hot blood. Delectable. "You know me so well, little brother. Want a sip?" He held out the mug almost tauntingly, shaking it just slightly to slosh its contents around.

For a moment, Stefan stared at it hungrily before he mentally shook himself and glared at his brother. "After your mouth has been on it? I think I'd rather gargle vervain."

Damon faked wincing. "Ouch!"

Stefan rolled his eyes and turned to speed up the stairs, away from his infuriating brother and Alaric, who had begun groaning and looking as if he were going to have a heart-to-heart with Damon.

Even though he knew he shouldn't, he found himself slowly approaching E.J.'s room. The door slightly ajar, Stefan easily tapped it open the slightest amount possible and peered inside.

Nobody was there.

"Huh," he muttered. "Weird." Before he could close the door, a rush of air swept through E.J.'s room and sent the few clothes she had unpacked swirling away.

Once the wind had died down, Stefan and E.J. stared at each other, E.J. panting heavily, glancing from him to the window.

"Just thought you might need something," Stefan lied, staring at E.J. with new understanding.

"Er, no thanks," E.J. played along, nervously fiddling with her hair. "I'm good."

"Uh huh." Stefan nodded, still staring at her.

"So, you can go now," E.J. finished, turning away from him.

A second later, she was picked clear up off the ground and pinned high up on the wall. She growled a warning, but she was helpless in the larger and probably older vampire's grasp.

Stefan easily held her, glaring heatedly but warily. "Who are you?"

"I already told you," E.J. muttered irritably. "My name is E.J. Hemmings. Can you put me down now?"

Stefan ignored her. "You're a vampire?"

E.J. sighed and shook her head, but as if her head hurt and not as if she were answering in the negative. "Honestly? I don't know what I am."

They stared at each other for another long moment before Stefan began feeling guilty for pinning a fourteen-year-old girl, vampire or not, and gently set her down. E.J. squirmed away from him and glared, folding her arms and huffing. "Can I unpack my things now?"

For whatever reason, Stefan felt himself drawn to this strange girl. He sensed that she was not dangerous—to him, anyway—and he almost sensed that she needed protecting. If she couldn't take him, she certainly couldn't take Damon. Assuming that none of the others dropped by while neither he nor Damon were there, then there was no problem.

So he nodded slowly and retreated from the room. "Yeah, go ahead. Make yourself at home."

Gloria appeared the moment he was gone. "You need to be more careful!" she scolded. E.J. ignored her and continued on with her unpacking. "Are you listening to me?"

"Go away, Gloria," E.J. suddenly snapped, rounding on the ghost. "I know I blew it, okay? You sent me here for something, and I probably just messed everything up! I get it! You don't need to remind me, okay?"

Gloria suddenly paused and slowly shook her head, looking deep in thought. "Perhaps not."

E.J. sniffled and blinked up at her. "What?"

Gloria smiled and patted the girl's head fondly.

From his room down the hall, Stefan could hear the entire conversation, E.J.'s side that is, and he began to wonder if letting the strange girl stay had been that great of an idea. _Is it normal for people to talk to themselves?_ he thought.

He heard movement at his door and spun around.

"What are you so jumpy for?" Damon was leaning against his doorframe (why had he left his door open?), holding his mug of blood in one hand. When Stefan only glared, Damon sighed and held up a placating hand. "I heard the whole thing, Stef, so relax."

Stefan didn't. "We're not kicking her out, Damon."

Damon feigned horror. "Come on, Stefan. You know me better than that. Put a lost, possibly insane little girl out on the streets? I'd never—"

"Your sincerity astounds me, Damon," Stefan interrupted. A moment passed, and the brothers could still clearly hear E.J.'s conversation with herself.

"You know what I mean, Damon," Stefan continued, sighing and looking deep in thought. "She's a vampire."

Damon blinked. "I know."

Stefan stared at him. "How could you know?"

"I heard everything, remember?" Damon took a long drink from his mug, looking thoughtful. "Weren't her exact words 'I don't know what I am'?"

"That was her way of saying, 'yes,' Damon," Stefan replied, agitated. He strolled toward his desk and absentmindedly picked up his current journal, thumbing through the pages. He had kept a journal his entire life after his mother had given it to him as a "special present." He had been seven at the time, a year before his mother had died, and he hadn't quite understood what a journal was supposed to be, but he had faithfully recorded his thoughts and feelings in it just as she had instructed.

"Really?" Damon sounded bored. "What, you think she's speaking in code now?"

Before Stefan could answer, something loud and heavy fell to the ground, creating a tremendous sound that was murder on their hypersensitive ears, from where they assumed to be E.J.'s room.

"What the hell?" Damon growled as he spun around, momentarily forgetting his mug and spilling half of the contents over his hand, to face the door. In the doorway stood a sheepish E.J., who was warily eying the blood that was dripping from Damon's hand.

"Are you okay?" she asked, sounding more as if she was distracting them than genuinely concerned.

"Peachy," Damon growled, downing the rest of the blood and dropping the mug onto one of the shelves of a bookcase. He licked the blood from his hands, his eyes not leaving the now nervous E.J.'s. The girl continued to stare, becoming entranced by the fathomless black eyes of the (physically and possibly literally) elder vampire. Even though he was at least in his early twenties and she was only fourteen, she couldn't help but admire just how hot Damon Salvatore was. _Gloria never mentioned he was this sexy,_ E.J. thought to herself.

"E.J.," Stefan interrupted the intense staring contest, startling E.J. but not even disturbing Damon. "We heard a crash," he continued. "What happened? Are you all right?"

Damon turned around and raised an eyebrow. _Really, little brother? She's standing right in front of you_. The thought came clearly into Stefan's mind, and he glared at his elder brother.

_Mind your own business_, he projected back.

"Oh, that." E.J.'s voice broke into the brothers' conversation and they turned as one to look at her. "I dropped something on the floor. No big deal." She uneasily glanced between the two. "Are you guys okay?"

Damon smiled menacingly and E.J. took a conscious step back. "Let's get something straight, kid," Damon purred, and Stefan resisted the urge to groan. Technically, Damon was the owner of the boarding house, since Stefan was only seventeen, and the younger Salvatore _technically_ had no say in how his brother ran the business. Not that they had had any other lodgers besides E.J. and the occasional friends or girlfriends, of course.

"My house, my rules," Damon continued. "That means no more crazy talking to yourself and preferably no more heavy objects being thrown across the room. Deal?"

E.J. stared at him. "What are you—?" She froze. "Oh, right, I was talking to myself. Er, yeah, deal, uh"—she glanced uncertainly down at Damon's hand—"should we shake on this, or what?"

Damon raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "No need, sweetheart. Just do as I say and stay out of my way, and we'll get along swimmingly."

E.J. had yet to break his gaze. "Uh huh, okay. Sorry to bother you two." She finally tore her gaze away to smile apologetically at Stefan before returning to staring blankly up at Damon once more. "Can I go now?"

In reply, Damon turned her around, gently shoved her out the door, and closed the door on her. When he turned around, Stefan was giving him a LOOK. "What?" Damon asked. "I got rid of her, didn't I?"

Stefan shook his head and turned back to his journal. "You're a hopeless cause, Damon. That's all I have to say to you."

Back in her room, E.J. gently picked up the precious box that she had thrown at Gloria in her rage and laid it on the bed. She jumped back in alarm when the box seemed to vibrate in her hands just slightly.

She was just reaching out to take it again, telling herself she had imagined it, when somebody screamed.

**AN: Well, that was fun! I will update soon, but I would love to see some feedback first. I didn't want to say before (because I think it gives a preconceived conception of the story), but this is my first TVD story. I've written enough, though, that there's no need to sugarcoat what you say. Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: I would have updated sooner, but I was volunteering at my church for vacation bible school. Anyway, I'm hoping this chapter will not disappoint. **** I should mention, that I meant to say this story takes place around **_**3**_**/13, not 2/13. I will correct that, but I'm just clarifying for those that have already read the first chapter. Just so you all know, there will be no love triangle among Elena and the Salvatore brothers in this story. I will only use Stelena. I have nothing **_**against**_** Delena, I just feel it might be a little forced. That, and I hate the rivalry between the brothers. Anyway, onto this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: As stated before, I still do not own **_**The Vampire Diaries**_** or any characters affiliated with it. The show belongs to CW network, Julie Plec, and Kevin Williamson, respectively, but some concepts used belong to L.J. Smith and her publishing company. I own the character E.J. She is entirely an original creation and not based off of any other character in the show. And she is most definitely not a Mary Sue.**

Previously . . .

"_My house, my rules," Damon continued. "That means no more crazy talking to yourself and preferably no more heavy objects being thrown across the room. Deal?"_

_E.J. stared at him. "What are you—?" She froze. "Oh, right, I was talking to myself. Er, yeah, deal, uh"—she glanced uncertainly down at Damon's hand—"should we shake on this, or what?"_

_Damon raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "No need, sweetheart. Just do as I say and stay out of my way, and we'll get along swimmingly."_

_E.J. had yet to break his gaze. "Uh huh, okay. Sorry to bother you two." She finally tore her gaze away to smile apologetically at Stefan before returning to staring blankly up at Damon once more. "Can I go now?"_

_In reply, Damon turned her around, gently shoved her out the door, and closed the door on her. When he turned around, Stefan was giving him a LOOK. "What?" Damon asked. "I got rid of her, didn't I?"_

_Stefan shook his head and turned back to his journal. "You're a hopeless cause, Damon. That's all I have to say to you."_

_Back in her room, E.J. gently picked up the precious box that she had thrown at Gloria in her rage and laid it on the bed. She jumped back in alarm when the box seemed to vibrate in her hands just slightly._

_She was just reaching out to take it again, telling herself she had imagined it, when somebody screamed._

"You know Damon's never going to let us," Elena said as she drove down the tortuous road leading to the Salvatore Boarding House. "A bunch of giggling girls in his home? Not going to happen."

"Oh, come on, Elena!" Caroline exclaimed, looking up momentarily from texting somebody Elena didn't know—she hadn't recognized the number. "Can't you convince him? Damon would let you do anything!"

"I agree with Caroline, Elena," Bonnie spoke up from the backseat. "Girls night will be _so_ much better away from any parents." She settled back against her seat and stared out the window, enjoying the scenery as Elena drove.

"Really?" Elena asked teasingly. "Are you sure it doesn't have anything to do with my house getting painted, your dad's presence in town, or Caroline's mom's impromptu dinner party?"

"Those, too," Bonnie agreed, grinning up at her best friend.

"It'll be totally fun, guys!" Caroline said, expressing herself with her hands and grinning from ear to ear. "Besides, Stefan will totally not care, and I'm sure he can get Mr. I'm-the-big-bad-vampire to agree."

Elena and Bonnie were dead silent for several moments before both glanced to Caroline, although Elena had to soon look away to watch the road. "What did you just call him?" Bonnie asked.

Caroline slunk down in her seat and pouted. "Never mind."

"Here we are!" Elena exclaimed excitedly as they finally reached their destination. She parked her car and she and her two friends hopped out. After retrieving their overnight bags from the back, the three girls skipped up to the front door, giggling and planning what they were going to do that night.

"I say makeovers!" Caroline was saying as Elena reached out and pushed the door open. She came so often that she no longer bothered asking for entrance.

"Makeovers, Caroline, really?" Bonnie shook her head. "I have some new spells I've been working on. I could show them to you guys."

Caroline's face twisted in disgust. "Ooh, really, totally fun girly stuff or so totally not fun, creepy witchy stuff?" She paused to think for a moment, Bonnie planting her hands on her hips and glaring as she did, before smiling sadly down at Bonnie. "I think I'll pass on the witchy voodoo for now, Bonbon."

Bonnie glared. "Don't call me that."

Elena shook her head, laughing to herself, as she walked inside and dropped her bag on the floor. She was just about to make her presence known (although she needn't bother since the boarding house was occupied by two vampires who had known the moment she walked inside) when she glanced to the side and promptly screamed.

Caroline and Bonnie rushed inside, throwing their bags to the ground, and surrounded Elena. "What happened? What's wrong?" Bonnie demanded, before she saw it, too.

Stefan and Damon appeared at that moment. Stefan ran to Elena, thinking she was hurt, but Damon cursed and sped over to the far wall where their fireplace had once been.

From atop the stairs, E.J. cautiously watched, dismayed that her spell had worn off so quickly. "Dammit!" she cursed under her breath, hurrying back to her room to locate her grimoire, the one that Gloria had given her after the first time she had displayed magical abilities.

She was frantically pawing through one of her suitcases when she felt a presence behind her and spun around. She squeaked, leapt up, and backed away. "I had nothing to do with it!" she lied, backing up until her back hit the wall behind her.

Damon's fathomless black eyes betrayed no emotion as he stalked her, leaning over her when her back hit the wall and gazing down at her in such a way that E.J. wasn't sure if she should be intimidated or not.

"What did I tell you?" he asked in a low voice, and E.J. decided that she should definitely be intimidated. "No funny business. That's all I asked."

E.J. frowned. "You never—"

"It was implied!" Damon snapped, interrupting her. "My point is, you broke our deal. Now what am I going to do with you?"

E.J. glared up at him, her pupils dilating as her breathing escalated. "You are going to get out of my way."

The elder vampire blinked down at her before he could not withhold a chuckle. E.J. continued to glare at him, but her attempts at compulsion clearly were not working. "Are you serious?" Damon chuckled. "You can't compel another vampire, kid. Unless you're an Original, that is."

Now it was E.J.'s turn to blink. "A what?"

Damon didn't grace her with an answer. "Besides, even if you _were_ an Original—which you are _not_—I've been guzzling vervain for the last three months."

"Dammit!" E.J. cursed under her breath before glaring up at him. "I don't suppose you'd move out of the goodness of your heart?"

"Who are you?" Damon demanded coldly.

"E.J. Hemmings," E.J. answered smartly. "Fourteen-years-old and a freshman in high school. Currently orphaned and with no other place to go."

Damon glared at her, but his expression had softened, although only marginally. "All right then. Be smart about it. What are you doing here?"

"I have no idea," E.J. replied honestly. There was really no harm in letting that particularly piece of information slip, right? "A friend of mine recommended this place. Is this interrogation over yet?" She wondered briefly when Stefan was going to show up and get his probably psychotic brother to back off.

_I prefer the term "misunderstood_." E.J. jumped at the voice in her head, but Damon was already gone.

"Bastard," she muttered under her breath. "Vervain, huh?" She slowly turned and glanced down at her grimoire still laid out on the floor. "We'll just see about that."

TVDTVDTVDTVDTVD

"It's done," Bonnie said, sounding exhausted. Caroline reached out to rub her back and Bonnie laid her head on the blonde vampire's shoulder. The fireplace was once more renewed, this time properly, with no danger of falling apart. Elena sat with Stefan on the loveseat across the room, Elena with a coffee mug in her hand and Stefan with a brooding expression on his face.

"It doesn't make any sense," Stefan mumbled. "She's a vampire. She couldn't have done that to the fireplace and then somehow fixed it with magic."

"It was broken and then repaired," Bonnie reiterated for the fifth time, half-asleep against Caroline. "_Somebody _tried to repair it."

"How do you know she's a vampire?" Elena asked. She wasn't taking the news of Stefan and Damon's (particularly Stefan) having a lodger very well. Particularly since this lodger was female. Even at only fourteen, this girl should not be alone with two guys for any length of time. Elena didn't trust her.

"Trust me." Stefan turned to his girlfriend and smiled, kissing her hair. He leaned back against the loveseat's arm and sighed. "She is."

"With magical powers?" Caroline asked incredulously. She shifted Bonnie so that the small girl was lying in her lap, curled up and currently dozed off.

"I got nothing." Damon tromped down the stairs and strolled in between the couches to take a seat beside Caroline and Bonnie. He reached down to rub Bonnie's feet and, even in her half-asleep state, she found the strength to kick him. "Kid's not talking," he continued. "I could have used more _persuasive_ methods, but Saint Stefan over there wouldn't let me."

"She's fourteen, Damon," Stefan said in way of his defense. "I shouldn't have let you talk to her at all."

"Or what?" Damon snarled, standing up and stalking toward his brother. "You would have gone? Get your head out of your ass, Stefan. You couldn't have done it."

Stefan glared but made no argument. Elena glared between the two and took Stefan's hand as if she thought she could ward off Damon that way. Damon's eyes lingered on the doppelganger without interest before turning around and returning to his seat beside Bonnie and Caroline.

Up in her room, E.J. was busy packing her things when she sensed a presence behind her. "What do you want, Gloria?" she snarled, refusing to turn around and face the witch. "I'm done with all your games. I'm going back to Toronto, and you can't stop me."

"Gloria's dead." E.J. froze, her heart pounding violently against her ribcage. "You have a heartbeat," the cold female voice continued. "How interesting. We vampires usually lack one."

E.J. gulped and stared straight ahead, clutching fistfuls of clothing to keep her hands from trembling. "I am no ordinary vampire," she countered softly.

"I sensed you the moment you came here," the voice continued, ignoring her words. "It was so strange. I've never felt anything like it."

"What do you want?" E.J. asked testily. She could feel power wafting off of the other vampire, but she found herself growing bolder the longer she went without seeing her.

Suddenly, she was grabbed by the elbow and spun around. She gasped when she came face-to-face with the other vampire. She was taller than E.J., but only appeared to be a few years older, probably around Stefan's age. Her long blonde hair fell into E.J.'s face when the other vampire leant down to peer into her eyes. Her blue-green eyes met E.J.'s oak-green ones, and a long moment passed where neither said anything.

"Do I know you?" the other vampire asked, sounding faraway and suddenly unsure of herself. Her tight jeans and cleavage-revealing top were distracting to E.J., who usually dressed in sweatpants and an old shirt from one of her old sports teams. Today, however, she had dressed up in short white shorts and a light-blue tank top, since it was unbearably hot outside. Around her neck she wore a delicate necklace with a woven silver chain. Her chestnut-brown hair fell loose around her shoulders, despite the heat outside, her honey-colored, flawless skin gleaming in the low light filling the room.

The other vampire smiled, not unkindly, as she took E.J.'s appearance in. "You are quite lovely, little girl."

E.J. stiffened and glared. "You're like three, four tops years older than me," she retorted. "You can hardly call me 'little girl.'"

In a moment, E.J. was on her back on her bed, arms pinned on either side of her. She glared up at the elder vampire, who smirked down at her. It annoyed her how easily she was being held down. Either E.J. was weaker than she thought herself to be or this vampire was ridiculously strong.

"My name is Rebekah," the other vampire introduced herself, her tone anything but friendly, "and you will do well to respect me."

"Hello, Rebekah," E.J. greeted. "I'm E.J. Now that we've officially met, can you please get off me and get the hell out of my room?"

Rebekah grinned playfully and stood up, reaching up to smooth her hair away from her face. "You're cute. I like you." E.J. sat up and stared up at her. Rebekah glanced at an iPhone she'd dug out of her back pocket and swore under her breath. "I've got to go. Let's hope the next time we meet will be more pleasant."

"Why?" E.J. asked, letting a hint of mockery into her voice. "Do you have a curfew?"

Rebekah glared at her. "You try living with four older brothers who feel the need to know where you are every second of every day!" The moment the tirade had begun, it was gone, and Rebekah was back to emotionless. "Be smart, little one, and don't ever cross me or my brothers." She leaned down and into E.J.'s face, once more pinning her to the bed. "Or I will rip out your heart and feed it to you."

E.J. squeezed her eyes shut and, when she'd opened them, Rebekah was gone. "Well, that was weird," E.J. grumbled to herself, sitting up and rubbing the spots where Rebekah had been holding her down.

"You wanted to see me, darling?" E.J. turned to see Gloria standing behind her, looking concerned.

E.J. sighed and flopped back on her bed. "Never mind. I'll figure it out tomorrow."

TVDTVDTVDTVDTVD

Even running at vampire speed, Rebekah missed her curfew by over ten minutes. She cursed under her breath as she ascended the steps, praying to the Norse god Thor that neither of her eldest brothers were still up. It was already past midnight. It was possible, but not likely. She could deal with Kol and Niklaus, since they weren't such sticklers for the curfew.

Unfortunately, she was not that lucky. She was reaching out to open the door as quietly as she could when it was literally thrown open. She heard it bang against the wall on the inside and winced.

"Do you know what time it is?" Finn snarled. He was not exactly the picture of an ultra-powerful Original in his gray sweatpants and SpongeBob Squarepants t-shirt, but Rebekah knew better. She would have even taken Elijah over him.

"11:59," she hurriedly lied, flashing her older brother her most brilliant smile. Finn glared at her and held out his hand for her phone. Rebekah pouted as she handed it over and Finn expertly turned the screen back on and showed her its time.

"Very cute, Bekah," he said, voice deceptively calm. "Now get your ass inside before I put you over my knee."

Rebekah giggled nervously. "Come on, Finn, don't be ridiculous. I'm far too old to be—" At his glare, she decided that she'd better quit while she was ahead. "Ah, you're serious. All right then."

She hurried into the house, squeaking at the sharp smack her second eldest brother gave her. She pouted up at him and marched into the parlor, rubbing her bottom.

Kol and Niklaus were sitting in front of the television, mesmerized by one of those Cartoon Network shows that Rebekah didn't understand the point of. "You deserved it, Bekah!" Niklaus called without looking up.

"Why did his head just explode?" Kol murmured in a daze, leaning forward with his elbows propped up on his knees.

Finn came in behind Rebekah and she promptly scurried away from him and over to the couch. She squirmed in between Kol and Niklaus. "What _are_ you watching?" she muttered, staring at the screen, oddly transfixed.

"Rebekah." At the voice, she jumped and glanced toward the doorway. Elijah did not look happy, but he was not angry like Finn had been. Wordlessly, he crooked a finger at her and Rebekah reluctantly stood to follow him out of the parlor. Finn trotted past her on her way out and Kol and Niklaus hurriedly made room for him as he sat down between them. Well, Niklaus did. Kol was too transfixed.

Rebekah's and Elijah's footsteps echoed in the enormous foyer as they strolled across the elegant marble flooring. Rebekah followed at a distance, head down as she ran through all of the things that Elijah might possibly say to her.

He suddenly paused and turned to face her, holding out his arms. She blinked at him in confusion and stepped up to him, pressing her face to his chest when he wrapped his arms around her. "You know why we worry, right, Rebekah?" he asked quietly, rubbing up and down her back and practically rocking her in his arms.

"I know, Lijah," Rebekah replied quietly. "You love me and you just want to keep me safe."

Elijah smiled and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "Yes, that is exactly right. Don't be upset with Finn. He was only worried for you, as was I. You know that the curfew is not a suggestion, Rebekah? We would prefer you not push it every night."

"I'm sorry," she said meekly. She didn't know what it was about Elijah, but she simply could not be her bitchy, badass self around him. She found herself reverting to her young-girl ways and heavily leaning on him for support. She both loved and hated his effect on her. Her other brothers did not affect her in that way so much, although they all held some sway over her. That feeling that they were to be obeyed was always there, although it was very, _very_ faint with Kol and only came out when he was angry.

Kol didn't usually get angry. He got revenge. Usually in a gruesome, horrific way that would give a lesser being nightmares.

Rebekah became aware that she was in danger of dozing off in Elijah's arms and immediately shook herself. "Sorry," she mumbled, pulling away and tiredly rubbing her eyes, yawning.

Elijah smiled and took her by the arm, leading her back to the parlor. "I would say sleep, but you no longer have a curfew, so you should be getting plenty of rest."

Rebekah immediately perked up. "No curfew? Seriously?"

"Yes." Elijah smiled at her, and something in his eyes told Rebekah she had just fallen into his trap. "Because you will no longer need one. You will not leave this house without one of us accompanying you."

Rebekah wanted to protest, but they were now inside the parlor, and she didn't want to make a scene in front of her other brothers. She resisted the urge to pout by scowling and folding her arms. Elijah smiled at her and affectionately tousled her hair before strolling over to recline in the armchair.

He could see right through her. She knew it, but she didn't care. She stomped over, quickly noticed that there was nowhere to sit but the floor, and settled herself onto Niklaus's lap. He barely glanced at her, patting her head absentmindedly, his gaze transfixed on the television.

Half an hour later, the three youngest Originals were all passed out and snoring, the TV still blaring, a new cartoon now on. Finn's and Elijah's eyes met, and a rare smile graced Finn's features. "They are your siblings," he teased, glancing down at Kol, who had his head pillowed on his shoulder.

"No, brother," Elijah played along, "they are yours. Can you not see the resemblance?"

The two eldest chuckled and Elijah stood, approaching the couch. "Shall we carry them upstairs or leave them be?" Finn asked, his face neutral once more.

"Upstairs," Elijah replied mildly. "You know how cranky they get when they don't get their 'beauty sleep.'" Finn nodded once in response, carefully maneuvering Kol to be able to lift him without waking him up.

When Elijah lifted Rebekah into his arms, she groaned and blinked open her eyes, staring up at him. "Go back to sleep, little sister," he said to her. "This will be much easier if you do."

"'M'kay," Rebekah mumbled, snuggling into Elijah's arms and closing her eyes once more.

When Finn and Elijah returned from putting their two youngest siblings to bed, they found Niklaus sitting up on the couch, a dazed expression on his face. Both glanced at each other before looking warily to their younger brother.

"Yes, I know," Niklaus muttered, rubbing his eyes tiredly. The TV was still playing and Elijah smoothly moved to turn the volume down low, leaving it on so that the light would illuminate the parlor. "I don't get babied and carried to bed. I know how it is."

Finn and Elijah glanced at each other once more, eyebrows raised. "Niklaus," Elijah spoke for the both of them, "are you drunk?"

Niklaus laughed and let his head fall into his hands. "Always that, isn't it, Eli?" Elijah frowned at the hated nickname. "You never considered sleep deprivation? Or just plain exhaustion?"

Finn rolled his eyes and turned to leave. "Is that how it is, Finn?" Niklaus's words stopped the older man in his tracks and he turned to glare at the hybrid. "When things get tough, you get going? That's how it's always been, right?"

Elijah sighed and reached up to rub a hand over his face. "Niklaus, now is not—"

The lecture was interrupted by a coughing fit as Niklaus wheezed while clutching the edge of the coffee table. Alarmed, his two older brothers stared at each other, unsure of what to do. Niklaus's body shuddered as he continued to cough until a suspiciously familiar red liquid began to trickle out of his mouth.

In that moment, Elijah forgot that it was Klaus, not Nik, who was before him. That it was the powerful vampire-werewolf hybrid and not his younger brother. Elijah hurried to him and dropped down beside him, pressing the back of his hand to his younger brother's forehead.

Finn did look worried, but he kept his distance. Even when they were all human, he had been wary of Niklaus, and that feeling had only been amplified as a vampire. He knew he should be _doing_ something, too, but he wasn't Elijah. The eldest Original wasn't ruffled by anything. He always remained calm and always knew what to do. If Finn were the only one witness to Niklaus's weakened state, he wouldn't have a clue what to do.

Niklaus's head fell against Elijah's shoulder and he shuddered, once more coughing heavily into his hand. The blood continued to trickle, and Elijah had to do everything to keep from panicking. Panicking would do nothing but waste time, and time was not something he had to spare.

"Niklaus, what is wrong?" Elijah asked sternly, keeping his arm around his brother's shoulders to support him. He was afraid Niklaus might collapse at any moment, and he didn't know what he would do if that were to happen.

Suddenly, a second pair of hands took a hold of Niklaus, feeling his forehead and feeling up and down his body. Elijah blinked up at his oldest younger brother but said nothing. Finn had a determined look on his face as he tilted Niklaus's face up. "He's burning up," he announced.

"I know," Elijah affirmed.

Finn sighed and ran a strong but slender hand along his brother's collarbone and down his back. "This makes no sense, Elijah. Even vampires do not become ill, and Niklaus is a hybrid."

Elijah frowned, tightening his grip on his younger brother. "Maybe that is the problem."

Niklaus suddenly lurched away from Elijah and into Finn, trembling uncontrollably and coughing so hard that his brothers were afraid he would injure himself. Finn took him by the arms and held him up, Niklaus leaning heavily into his chest and panting against his neck.

Elijah stood and grabbed his brother by the shoulders, attempting to shake him but yet not wanting to. "We need to get him to his room," he finally said, his tone broaching no argument.

Finn gave none, simply nodded. Without a word, he swept his younger brother up into his arms and Niklaus hissed at him. "Release me this instant!" the hybrid threatened. He was interrupted by another coughing fit and was forced to cling to Finn to keep from convulsing too heavily.

The two eldest brothers hurried across the foyer and up the ornate staircase leading up to their rooms. Finn was still cradling Niklaus in his arms, and all Elijah could do was hover. He felt useless, but he could see just how difficult this all was for Finn.

They finally reached Niklaus's room. Elijah scurried around to pull back the covers and prepare the bed for his brother. He was so freaked out by his brother's apparent illness that his composure had all but disappeared and his suit, for once, was actually wrinkled. He threw off his jacket and waved at Finn to put Niklaus in bed.

"He needs to be changed," Finn murmured, looking disgusted by the idea but clearly sticking by it.

Elijah nodded. "I will do that," he said after seeing how uncomfortable the idea made Finn. "You go call the doctor."

Finn raised an eyebrow. "A doctor, Elijah?"

"Yes," Elijah answered simply. Finn continued to stare at him for a moment before nodding in consent and carefully transferring Niklaus from his arms to Elijah's.

Niklaus was surprisingly light and Elijah was easily able to carry him over to his wardrobe. Niklaus mumbled something that Elijah didn't catch and blearily gazed at the enormous dresser before him.

Elijah dropped Niklaus's legs to the ground but kept a tight hold of his shoulders as he pawed through the contents of the wardrobe. He finally located sweatpants similar to Finn's and a simple white t-shirt to dress his brother in. He slung the clothes over his shoulder and gently picked his brother back up.

"I'm warning you, Elijah," Niklaus threatened weakly as he was carried to his bed and set down. "I will put that dagger back in your heart if you even _think_ about doing what you're thinking of doing."

Elijah raised an eyebrow. "Did you just hear yourself?" he teased, reaching out to pull his brother's shirt over his head.

"Shut up!" Niklaus grumbled, swaying slightly as the white cotton shirt was yanked over his head. "I mean it, Elijah! I will make your life miserable!"

Elijah put a hand on each of his brother's shoulders and leaned down so that they were looking eye-to-eye. "Niklaus," Elijah spoke in an authoritative voice, "you are going to shut up and do as I say or so help me I will put you over my knee." Niklaus scowled, although it was broken by deep, hacking coughs. Elijah did not flinch. "I have done it before, and I will do it again if you test me. I am your _older_ brother, Niklaus, and you will. Do. As. I. Say."

Niklaus tried to glare but he was shoved down onto the bed and his pants were yanked off. "I see how it is," he grumbled. "Catch me when I'm weak and bully me into submission. Very noble of you, Elijah."

"I shouldn't have to wait until you are weak," Elijah replied shortly, easily slipping the sweatpants onto his brother and lifting him slightly to finish fitting them around his waist. "I never demanded your respect, Niklaus, as other eldest sons did." Niklaus said nothing as his brother turned away to close the wardrobe doors. "But that does not mean I did not expect it."

Elijah turned back around to find a Niklaus who was about ready to keel off the bed. He approached and wrapped an arm around his brother, shifting him so that he was leaning against him. "I've let you control me more than I ever should have, Niklaus," Elijah spoke, resting his cheek atop his brother's head. "That was my mistake. But, mark my words, Finn and I will discover what is wrong with you. Let us help you, Niklaus."

"Or have you lost all respect for us, little brother?" The unexpected voice from the doorway broke Niklaus. He was so sore, exhausted, and attention-starved (although he would never admit it) that he suddenly just wanted to be taken care of. He threw his arms around Elijah and buried his face in his neck, breathing in his scent and shaking terribly as he clung to him.

Footsteps crossed the floor over to him and Niklaus knew that Finn had joined them. "Do you want to put him to bed or shall I?" the second eldest Original asked. Niklaus wasn't sure if Finn genuinely wanted to help take care of him or simply felt obligated to.

Elijah gazed thoughtfully at his younger brother but did not quite have the heart to force Niklaus away from him. "Perhaps we can both do so." Finn looked a little surprised but he nodded mildly as Elijah picked Niklaus up for a third time.

Niklaus groaned as he was lifted, but he knew he could not walk. Whatever was wrong with him was not going to heal any time soon. He knew that Elijah was walking him over to the other side of the bed, but he felt detached from his body and could no longer feel Elijah's arms around him.

Suddenly, something invaded Elijah's unfelt embrace and took him from it. This Niklaus could feel every bit of and he groaned, letting his head roll to rest against Finn's shoulder.

Finn laid Niklaus down on the bed and he and Elijah shared a look.

"This is not natural, Lijah," Finn spoke first. "I called that Meredith Fell lady, and she wouldn't even listen to me. Thought I was playing with her, I guess."

Elijah barely nodded. "We will find whoever is responsible for this," he snarled, "and make him pay."

**AN: Yay, the Originals are here! I love the Originals, although I can't decide which my favorite is. The idea for this story actually came from FanFiction stories. Seriously, you just can't find good quality, family-moment material on the TV show or in the books. **** That's why I love this site! Anyway, review if you like, and tell me what you thought, and I hope to update soon. Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: I feel bad because I forgot to thank the reviewer for the first chapter. Thank you very much! And thank you to the reviewers of the last chapter. I'm glad to see my little idea has you all interested. I don't have much to say, but I will explain that the "Previously" sections are worked so that they are the preceding portions of the situation from the first part of this chapter. In other words, they won't necessarily be the last part of the last chapter, just so no one gets confused. Enjoy the story!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**The Vampire Diaries**_** or any characters affiliated it. They belong to CW Network, Julie Plec, and Kevin Williamson, respectively. Some concepts used belong to L.J. Smith and her publishing company. I own the character of E.J., and she cannot be used in any way, shape, or form without my permission. I own Mrs. Whitewater, too, but she's not really important.**

Previously . . .

"_My name is Rebekah," the other vampire introduced herself, her tone anything but friendly, "and you will do well to respect me."_

_ "Hello, Rebekah," E.J. greeted. "I'm E.J. Now that we've officially met, can you please get off me and get the hell out of my room?"_

_ Rebekah grinned playfully and stood up, reaching up to smooth her hair away from her face. "You're cute. I like you." E.J. sat up and stared up at her. Rebekah glanced at an iPhone she'd dug out of her back pocket and swore under her breath. "I've got to go. Let's hope the next time we meet will be more pleasant."_

_ "Why?" E.J. asked, letting a hint of mockery into her voice. "Do you have a curfew?"_

_ Rebekah glared at her. "You try living with four older brothers who feel the need to know where you are every second of every day!" The moment the tirade had begun, it was gone, and Rebekah was back to emotionless. "Be smart, little one, and don't ever cross me or my brothers." She leaned down and into E.J.'s face, once more pinning her to the bed. "Or I will rip out your heart and feed it to you."_

_ E.J. squeezed her eyes shut and, when she'd opened them, Rebekah was gone. "Well, that was weird," E.J. grumbled to herself, sitting up and rubbing the spots where Rebekah had been holding her down._

_ "You wanted to see me, darling?" E.J. turned to see Gloria standing behind her, looking concerned._

_ E.J. sighed and flopped back on her bed. "Never mind. I'll figure it out tomorrow."_

"Why wait?" Gloria pestered. "When you called me, I came quickly because you said it was urgent. Now you want to _wait until tomorrow_?"

E.J. sighed and sat up. "Fine, fine. I want to know how to compel someone who's on vervain."

Gloria simply smiled. "For you, that is quite simple." The witch stood and strode toward the closet at the far end of the room, tugging at it until it opened and swinging the door aside. "Take a peek for yourself."

The girl raised an eyebrow at her old friend but obeyed. "Vervain," she breathed in disbelief.

"It is actually quite simple," Gloria explained. "To fight the effects of vervain you must be full of it. It would not work on a normal vampire, but you are special, my dear."

E.J. hissed and stepped into the closet, picking up the bundle. "No pain, no gain, right?" she laughed humorlessly.

The next hour she spent scarfing down small amounts of vervain and then experiencing severe stomach cramps and tightness in her chest for several minutes. She managed to chew and swallow almost all of the vervain that Gloria had brought, but not without a price.

E.J. groaned and held her aching stomach, reaching up and wiping a trickle of blood away from her mouth. "I'm bleeding," she said, staring at the drop of blood in shock and horror.

"You should be elated, dear," Gloria soothed. "A normal vampire would have been physically incapable of ingesting that much vervain in that short of an amount of time."

"Vervain doesn't affect me all that much," E.J. replied, still groaning. "It mostly keeps me from compelling people."

Gloria grinned. "But that will no longer be a problem."

E.J. hissed and massaged her stomach with one hand, saluting Gloria with the other. "Thanks a bunch, _dear_. Now get lost."

Gloria mock-pouted before blowing her a kiss and disappearing.

Now for E.J. to recover from these cramps and go compel the hell out of Damon.

TVDTVDTVDTVDTVD

"Well, would you look at that?" Kol was grinning evilly as he stood outside his older brother's room, holding a Polaroid camera. His sister stood beside him, looking bored, if not a little jealous of Niklaus at the moment. "They're so cute!" Kol giggled, snapping a third picture.

"Kol," a voice drifted from the bed, "lay the camera down and walk away or I will come over there and shove the pieces of it down your throat." Finn turned over and yawned, glaring murder at his youngest brother. "Or, of course, you can come over here and take your beating like a man."

Before Kol could say something stupid and tick Finn (who clearly was in a very bad mood) off further, Rebekah snatched the camera from Kol's hands and tossed it far into the room.

"Hey!" Kol cried, turning around and grabbing Rebekah in a headlock. She squealed and clawed at him, but his arm would not give. "Go get the camera or I'll shove your face somewhere you _know_ you don't want to be!" Kol threatened, tightening his grip and swaying her back and forth.

In two seconds, Rebekah was safely taken from his grasp and Kol was slammed up against the wall by none other than Elijah. Kol had never seen his brother so—not perfect. Elijah's hair was wild, his eyes bloodshot, and his suit looked like he'd slept in it . . . Oh, wait.

"I am _not_ in the mood, Kol!" Elijah growled, further pressing his large hand against Kol's throat. "Do you understand me?!"

Kol squeaked, clawing at his throat and desperately trying to loosen his older brother's grip. He tried to speak, but could only force out garbled sentences that made no sense. Elijah finally sensed his dilemma and dropped him, Kol falling to his knees and rubbing furiously at his throat to relieve the constricted feeling.

Elijah rubbed his tired eyes as he approached the bed that he and Finn had put Niklaus on and that Finn had passed out on last night. The all-night vigil had not gone as planned, since both of the "guards" had fallen asleep on duty.

Elijah collapsed beside Finn, turned over, and buried his face in one of the pillows. Finn reached over and patted his older brother's back, but Elijah was too exhausted to swat at him.

Niklaus suddenly sat up, wide awake, and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Once he could see, his face morphed from calm to alarmed within seconds at the sight of all of his siblings in his room, two of them on his bed with him. "What is going on here?" he asked in a low voice.

Finn turned over, stared at him in disbelief, and then reached out to whack him on the back of the head. Niklaus was so startled that he jumped, rubbing the spot and staring wide-eyed at his older brother. "Well, looks like somebody's all better," Finn quipped, tone dull but eyes alight with emotion.

Niklaus looked blank. "Huh?"

"Last night," Finn explained patiently. "You really had us panicking, Nik. Are you actually okay or are you just faking it?"

Finn had called him "Nik." Finn hadn't called him that since . . . well, since before he'd daggered him. It sent an oddly warm feeling through him that he normally would have been repulsed at.

Niklaus's attention was suddenly diverted as he peered past Finn and noticed the state that his eldest brother was in. "What on—?" Finn frantically waved his arms and slid a finger across his throat, pointing at Elijah. Niklaus raised an eyebrow and smirked. Did Finn _really_ think that Niklaus was in any way, shape, or form afraid of—?

"Niklaus, if you do not wipe that smirk off your face this instant, I swear to Thor I will beat you so badly last night will seem like a vacation!"

Niklaus blinked several times, processing what his brother had just said. His smirk had indeed disappeared: how Elijah had known he was smirking, he didn't and had no desire to know. "What is this about last night?" he quietly asked his second eldest brother.

Finn yawned as he leaned back against Niklaus's enormous headboard, eyes partially closed. "Ask me after I've had my coffee," he mumbled.

Niklaus frowned. "Finn, what happened last—?"

"I said, 'ASK ME AFTER MY COFFEE'!" Finn bellowed, slapping Niklaus in the face so hard he saw stars. "Thor's hammer!" Finn swore, turning over and cuddling back down into the bed.

"Ow," Niklaus mumbled, hurriedly climbing down from the bed, warily eying his older brothers, and glancing toward his younger siblings. "I don't suppose you two know what's going on?"

"Not a clue!" Kol sing-songed, earning him another threat from Finn and a menacing promise from Elijah. "Anybody want coffee?" Kol squeaked before scooping his camera back up and bolting for the door.

Rebekah shook her head, both in embarrassment and in answer to Niklaus's question. "No, I don't." She frowned. "I think I fell asleep before that. Damn, you really do lose when you snooze!"

A pillow sailed over their heads, narrowly taking Niklaus down, and the two Originals decided that outside was a very good place to talk indeed.

Kol was busily preparing two steaming mugs of coffee in the kitchen, humming horribly off-key to himself, some punk song that Niklaus heard on the radio far too often, when Niklaus and Rebekah entered the room. Rebekah trotted over, picked up a butcher knife, and leaned in to jab it into her brother's abdomen. Apparently she hadn't appreciated being grabbed in a headlock.

Despite his apparent obliviousness, Kol sensed her coming, spun around, and caught her hand before she could stab him. "Peace, little sister," he teased, tone malicious. Rebekah growled at him as the butcher knife was pried from her hands and tossed across the room into the sink, where it left a noticeable scratch down the stainless steel.

Niklaus sighed as he trotted over and assessed the damage. It could be repaired, but for a cost. He could hear the sounds of a growing argument between his two younger siblings, but he chose to ignore it as he carefully moved the butcher knife to the other side of the sink.

He turned to find Kol and Rebekah in a cat fight and, strangely enough, they were evenly matched. "Men aren't supposed to be good at cat fights, Kol," Niklaus called. Kol ignored him, managing to grab Rebekah in another headlock and tackle her to the floor.

Noticing the cups of coffee sitting on the island, Niklaus decided that perhaps he could bribe his older brothers into telling him about last night. He couldn't remember anything, and it frustrated him to no avail.

Niklaus hated being in the dark. It made him feel less in control, especially when it was one—or, in this case, two—of his siblings who were keeping him that way. He needed to know! He carefully went around his squabbling siblings, plucked the two mugs up from the island, and strode out of the kitchen.

He cautiously ascended the winding staircase, careful not to spill even a drop of coffee on the expensive porcelain, wondering to himself how to broach the topic. He told himself that he wasn't nervous at all, but Finn and Elijah were suddenly acting a lot more like they had when they had all still been human. He hadn't been spoken to like that in so long, it felt almost unreal.

He cautiously tapped open the door to his room with his elbow and maneuvered himself inside. His brothers were still lying on his bed, looking rumpled and exhausted. Niklaus held his head up as he approached the bed.

The smell of coffee must have tantalized his brothers' senses, for they soon groaned and turned over, practically in sync. Finn and Elijah both sat up when they saw Niklaus standing before them, holding the two coffee mugs out like a peace offering.

"What do you want?" Finn muttered, making no move to take the offered mug.

Niklaus withheld a frown. "Why can I not simply do you a kindness out of the goodness of my heart?"

Elijah rolled over, looking even more tired than before. "I don't care what his motives are. I just want the coffee."

Niklaus decided that perhaps he should give his brothers the mugs before asking about last night. They would probably not be willing to talk before they had had their caffeine. He carefully sat down on the edge of the bed and held out one of the mugs to Finn. The older Original eyed him suspiciously before taking the mug and handing it to Elijah. The eldest Original promptly guzzled the bitter liquid down, very out-of-character for him. Finn took the second mug when Niklaus handed it to him and sipped out of it more slowly.

Niklaus waited patiently for the caffeine to begin to wake his brothers up. "Now, what do you want?" Finn asked, thankfully sounding more awake.

"Last night," Niklaus sighed, no longer able to avoid the subject. "I want you to tell me about it."

"You were sick, Niklaus," Elijah spoke up. He had attempted to smooth his hair down, to no avail, but his suit remained rumpled. The coffee in his mug was already gone and he delicately placed it on the nightstand to his left.

"What are you talking about?" Niklaus snapped. "I am the hybrid! I do not get 'sick'!"

"You were coughing up blood," Finn jumped in. "You were scaring us, Nik. We had to carry you upstairs, change your clothes, and put you to bed. When is the last time one of us had to do that?"

Niklaus wasn't sure if he should walk away now or further pursue the matter. "That's not possible," he finally said.

Elijah sighed and stood up. "You deal with him, Finn. I am going to go shower and change." Finn only nodded as his elder brother hurried out of the room. He had probably just realized how unkempt he looked. Elijah prided himself on his appearance.

"Believe what you will, Nik," Finn sighed, turning back to stare at his younger brother. "But that is what happened. You had fallen asleep on the couch with Bekah and Kol, and Elijah and I had carried them upstairs already. We came back and you were awake. Then you just started hacking your lungs up, and you were even coughing up blood. _Something _was wrong with you."

Niklaus finally nodded in resignation. "All right, say I accept that something was wrong with me last night," he said slowly. "I have lived for a thousand years and never once have I been sick. Why would I suddenly start now?"

Finn shrugged and hopped to the ground on the side of the bed opposite Niklaus. "No clue, little brother. That sounds like a personal problem."

Niklaus frowned when his older brother disappeared out of the doorway. He knew he wasn't the easiest company to keep, but they didn't have to treat him like a disease. He sighed and settled back against his pillows, closing his eyes and breathing in deeply.

He was already dressed in sleepwear (he would rather not think about how he had gotten into it) and he might as well take a little nap. He was still exhausted, after all.

TVDTVDTVDTVDTVD

Damon was sitting alone in the kitchen, sipping out of a coffee mug (although E.J. doubted that was what was in it), when E.J. skipped over to him. Damon's gaze slid up to her momentarily before he returned his attention to the newspaper in his hand.

"Good morning!" E.J. chirped, dropping down in a chair beside him and pulling it close to him. Damon ignored her. "How was your sleep?"

"What do you want?" he asked, not in an irritated way but matter-of-factly.

E.J. leaned in close to him, her pupils dilating. Damon glanced over at her to raise an eyebrow and smirk, and fell right into her trap. "I want you to answer my question," E.J. spoke in a soft but commanding voice.

Damon blinked and nodded. "I slept fine. Andie came over and she and I had a swell—"

"Okay!" E.J. interrupted, standing up and moving away from the table. "Never mind!"

"Is this why you wanted to know how to compel someone on vervain?" a voice asked from behind her. E.J. groaned and turned around to glare at Gloria.

Completely forgetting she was not alone in the room, she snapped, "What I do is none of your business. You're the one who went and died on me, so I don't need any of your crap!"

Damon stared up at her. He felt strange, as if he had just been compelled, but he knew that was not possible. "Who are you talking to?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. "I assure you, I am very much undead, thank you very much."

E.J. swung around in shock, hurriedly grabbing him by the collar and leaning back into his face. Before she could even attempt to compel him, he grabbed her by the wrist and threw her stomach-down over his knees. "What do you think you are doing?" he growled.

E.J. grunted and squirmed. "Let me up!"

"Answer my question," Damon purred mockingly. He was tempted to smack the girl's bottom a couple of times, but even he admitted that that was inappropriate.

E.J. growled and hung her head, defeated. She hated feeling so weak. As "special" as Gloria had always insisted she was, she had never been as physically strong as other vampires. Then again, any other vampires she had ever had contact with had been a lot older than she was.

"I was trying to compel you again," she answered honestly. "I thought that maybe if I really was an Original, why not, you know?"

Damon sighed and turned her over so that she was sitting upright on his lap. E.J. tried to struggle away from him, but his grip was iron-strong. "Do you really not know what an Original is?" he asked quietly, almost sympathetically.

E.J. stopped struggling for a moment to stare at him. "No, I don't," she grumbled. "Do enlighten me."

"A thousand years ago, a witch did a spell that turned her entire family, excluding herself, into vampires," Damon explained slowly. "They are the Originals, vampires next to impossible to kill. Trust me, you are not one of them."

E.J. sighed and laid her head on Damon's shoulder. "Okay, I promise I'll stop trying to compel you then." _If what Damon's saying is true, then how in the world can I compel other vampires? I'm definitely not one of those Originals, that's for sure. Maybe there's another breed of vampire that Damon doesn't know about?_

E.J. suddenly found herself being lifted up and set aside as Damon stood up. "Shouldn't you be heading to school?" Damon asked, voice gruff and stern.

E.J. blinked up at him. "Why would I do that?"

Damon smiled wickedly, and E.J. got a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. "You can go out in sunlight, right?"

E.J. raised an eyebrow and nodded.

"Then come with me. We're going on a little road trip."

TVDTVDTVDTVDTVD

Elena was at her locker when she saw Damon enter the school with a young girl she had never seen before. She shut her locker and watched curiously as he practically dragged her toward the school office. "What was that all about?" Elena turned and smiled at Bonnie. Her friend had been through so much, but she still managed to keep a smile on her face. Not only recently, but in the rest of her life as well.

"No idea," Elena answered, shifting her books in her arms so that she could slip them into her book bag.

"Does anyone know who the new kid is?" Both girls turned to find Caroline behind them. None of them had gotten much sleep last night, but the sleepover had been well-worth it. Once they had haggled Damon into agreeing to it, despite all of the weirdness with the fireplace.

"What are we talking about?" Elena turned to find Stefan smiling at her, and Caroline and Bonnie made a hasty exit. Elena smiled as Stefan leaned down to peck her lips, still smiling.

"Damon brought in a girl," Elena answered after a brief make-out session. "I've never seen her before."

Stefan frowned and sighed. "E.J."

Elena's eyes widened in surprise. "Your new boarder?" Stefan nodded. "The girl Damon's convinced wrecked your fireplace and then tried to fix it with magic, even though she's a vampire and couldn't possibly have done that?" Stefan chuckled and nodded again.

"The one and only," he said. "She's a nice girl, but a little weird."

Elena raised an eyebrow. "Weird how?"

Stefan shrugged. "Well, she keeps up conversations with herself. Not like somebody else would, but genuinely like she's talking to another person. It's . . . creepy."

Elena frowned and shook her head, reaching up to tuck her hair behind her ear. "I think you and Damon are reading a little too much into this. We girls talk to ourselves all the time. There's nothing 'creepy' about it."

Stefan shook his head. "You didn't hear her, Elena. Trust me, it was creepy."

Elena rolled her eyes and stepped past him. "Well, I have English next, so I'd better get going. You wouldn't want to miss your trig class, Stefan."

Stefan groaned in mock-horror. "Oh no, that would be terrible."

Elena smiled back and waltzed off down the hall, swaying her hips as she went. Stefan sighed and shook his head like a lovesick puppy, hurrying off to his own class.

"We should make sure to meet this new girl," Kol said, grinning, from around the corner. He and Rebekah had gotten to school barely on time, but neither was in a hurry to get to class. At twenty-three-physical-years-old, Kol was far too old to be going to high school, but he and Rebekah were posing as twins. Why, because the four oldest Originals were paranoid and hated letting their little sister out of their sights for any length of time. Especially now that she was no longer allowed out of the house without one of them.

"Yes, Kol," Rebekah sighed sarcastically, walking briskly to her locker, heels clicking the tiled floor rhythmically, and quickly spinning the lock, "we definitely should do that."

Kol grinned wickedly, shadowing her just because he knew it would annoy her. "Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed."

Rebekah rolled her eyes as she yanked open her rusty locker and picked out her schoolbooks. "I've already met her anyway. She's nothing special."

Kol raised an eyebrow and leaned his shoulder against the locker next to hers. The third bell had already went off, but the two Originals were not concerned about receiving detention from their teachers. A little compelling, and they would act as if nothing had happened. "Oh, do tell. Is that where you were last night?"

"It was so weird," Rebekah mumbled, closing her locker and following Kol to his locker, which was only a few down from hers.

"What was?" Kol asked, more out of boredom than interest, as he expertly opened his locker. For having been basically dead in a coffin for over a century, he had adjusted to the modern world very well.

"I felt something," Rebekah answered in a small voice. "I finally pinpointed the source and found her."

Kol plucked his own schoolbooks up, slammed his locker door shut, and raised an eyebrow down at his sister. "What do you mean by 'felt something'?"

Rebekah shrugged as she trotted off to her class, Kol on her heels. He had somehow managed to get the exact same schedule as hers, much to her annoyance, which meant that he could shadow her all day. It was enough to make her want to scream, but she didn't want to make a scene even in a deserted hallway. "I can't really explain it," she answered just so that he wouldn't come up with some creative way to get it out of her. "I just 'felt' something. I've never felt anything like it, and I doubt any of you have."

Kol looked thoughtful, a rarity for him, as they finally neared their first class: English 401, the same class as Elena's. "Huh. Have you thought about saying something to Elijah? He might know something about it."

Rebekah sighed and shook her head. "Just drop it, okay? I shouldn't have said anything."

She pushed the door to the classroom open, and Kol had to drop the topic for the moment. He made quick work of compelling their English teacher, Mrs. Whitewater, the widowed elderly woman who was the most hated teacher of the school, and took his seat across from Rebekah.

Before a now very confused Mrs. Whitewater could begin the class, the door opened and a girl entered with Damon Salvatore.

Kol raised an eyebrow. _Well, this should be interesting._

**AN: I wonder if anybody's trying to guess what's so "special" about E.J. yet. If you would like to, tell me in a review. I'm considering a little contest for whoever figures it out first, but I haven't decided yet. We haven't gotten to that point in the story, but we will. I will update soon, but please review first! I haven't been getting a lot, and I'm not one of those authors who demand a certain number before they'll review, but they do help motivate me. Thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: I wasn't going to update this soon, but I'm taking my computer to be fixed tomorrow. I thought I would give you Chapter 4 just in case they had to keep it. Thank you to my two wonderful reviewers! To **_**friendlyanon**_**, I'm glad you're enjoying the story! Good guess, but I can't say one way or the other without ruining the story for you. Keep looking for clues: they are there! To **_**Marauders12345**_**, yes, I need to keep updating frequently because we aren't even to the good part yet. There's a whole lot more to E.J. I'm a lot farther into the story than you guys are, and I keep forgetting that. Anyway, to everybody, I have nothing else to say, so enjoy this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't want to keep repeating this, so reference first two chapters. E.J. belongs to me. P.S., if anybody doesn't remember who Gloria is, she's the witch that Klaus went to before he undaggered Rebekah, when Stefan was with him. She was also there back in 1922 (correct me if that's the wrong year) when Stefan was with Klaus and Rebekah. That's an important fact to this story, so I thought I'd let you know that.**

E.J. had never even stepped foot into a high school before Damon had practically dragged her through the front doors of Mystic Falls High. The hallways were wide, and many of them were lined with lockers. She was first taken down a hall to the right of the entrance, to a door marked _Office_ where Damon "checked her in" with the secretary there. And by "checked in" is meant that Damon compelled the woman to list E.J. Hemmings as a new student at the school regardless of her lack of any records. E.J. did have information with her, but it was back at the boarding house since she had been so rudely dragged off here against her will.

The woman had handed her a freshly printed class schedule and had dismissed them with a smile on her face and a dazed look in her eyes. Damon had had to escort E.J. to her first class just because she couldn't read a map to save her life.

She walked into the room behind Damon, trying but failing to hide behind him. He walked right up to the teacher and quickly compelled her to believe that E.J. was her newest student. Mrs. Whitewater nodded vaguely and introduced E.J. to the class in the dazed monotone common to all compelled individuals.

_It will take a moment for you to get in the files, so I shouldn't have to compel your other teachers_. The thought came into E.J.'s mind unbidden, and it took her a moment to realize it was not her own. She glared at Damon, but he was already waltzing out of the class, black sunglasses glinting in the harsh fluorescent lighting of the classroom.

E.J. nervously took one of the three available seats, the chair in the far left corner (if you were looking directly on). She dropped down into her seat and twiddled her thumbs nervously. She had no textbooks, no school supplies, nada. Damon had simply shipped her off here so that he did not need to "babysit" her all day.

Suddenly, Mrs. Whitewater appeared at her desk with a brand-new textbook in her hands. "This is from the stockpile for next year," the elderly woman told her stiffly, clearly still under the effects of the recent compulsion. After a time, the stiffness and monotone would wear off and the woman would act normally while she still believed what Damon had made her believe.

Some of the other students, mainly those who had beaten-down old textbooks, glared jealously at her as she accepted the book with a soft thank-you. She laid it on her desk, splaying her hand on it and propping her elbow up on her desk and resting her chin in her hand. She had no backpack either. Damon really hadn't thought this through.

She felt eyes on her and glanced up to see one of the girls who had come to the boarding house last night staring at her. She had no idea who she was, but she was clearly associated with the Salvatore brothers so E.J. gave her a weak wave. The dark-haired girl waved back and smiled kindly.

_Wait a minute,_ E.J. thought suddenly. _I'm a freshman. Stefan's probably a senior, and that girl looks to be his age. What class is this anyway?_

_This is English 401, a senior class._ The thought in her head was so unexpected that she jumped and swung around wildly looking for the projector. She finally had to force herself to settle down since a few people were staring oddly at her. Strangely enough, she could have sworn the thought had had an English accent. Yes, thoughts were heard in the projector's actual voice, which helped to identify him or her.

_Where are you?_ E.J. rarely found opportunities to project her thoughts, and she was a little rusty, but she knew how to well enough to be able to send a few words. At first, she felt nothing before she was suddenly overwhelmed by a menacing presence. This person's aura made Damon's look like a young child's, and Damon had a strong aura.

_Look around you, love_, the voice, clearly male, now continued. _I am here. You need only find me_.

E.J. really did try, but no one was currently looking at her and it was impossible to tell. Suddenly, she saw him. To her left and ahead of her a few chairs sat a dark-haired young man who had his back to her. She could now tell that the presence was coming from him, and she gritted her teeth in anger. _Who are you and what do you want?_

_Kol, who are you talking to?_ The other voice butted into their conversation, and E.J. physically started. The lanky boy next to her glanced at her oddly, but she ignored him.

She had recognized that voice as belonging to the girl who had attacked her last night. How Rebekah had been able to hear her, she had no idea. The only reason she could think of was that the boy who had been speaking to her had linked his mind to hers, and she could hear whatever he could.

Clearly, that link had been broken, for any other conversation had been cut off. E.J. sighed and slumped down further in her seat. Great, she was now being mind-stalked by a creepy but strangely sexy dude and the crazy psycho bitch who had attacked her last night could end up being her lab partner. Goody!

_Go away, Rebekah_. E.J. jumped when she heard that thought clearly, leaning forward to try to see the young man's face. Wait, what had Rebekah called him?

_Who were you talking to?_ Rebekah pressed. E.J finally noticed her sitting next to the young man, wearing a short black skirt with a multicolored blouse tucked into it. Her gold chain necklace was four times larger than E.J. would ever wear, and her hoop earrings were ridiculous. Her perfectly manicured nails drummed her desk as she glared ahead.

_Get out of my head, Bekah_, the young man sighed. He was dressed in tight black jeans and a dark-leather jacket, from what E.J. could see.

_Tell me who you were talking to_. Rebekah was clearly persistent, E.J. had to admire that. E.J. giggled a little when Rebekah glanced over at the young man, her glare darkening, before turning back to face front.

_You will have to answer me eventually, Kol_. Kol, yes! That had been his name! _Are you listening to me?! Kol, are you ignoring me or did you block me out again?_

_Who I am is none of your concern_. E.J. wrinkled her nose in confusion when that thought came into her head. Wait, wasn't Kol done with harassing her yet?

_Your name's Kol, I got that already._

_How did you know that?!_ Kol sounded alarmed now, and E.J. wondered if she should have projected that.

_Your fault for creating a link with me. I could hear the entire conversation with Rebekah. She's a nutcase, by the way. She came to my room last night and—_

"That's who you're talking to?!" Rebekah forgot to project her thoughts as she turned to glare at Kol. Mrs. Whitewater frowned and turned around to scowl at Rebekah, but one pupil-dilated look from Kol, and she was back to teaching her class. The other students were ignoring them, probably used to such displays and knowing that reacting was suicidal.

_Inside voice, please, love_, Kol taunted. _You are going to scare the pretty little humans. _The young man suddenly stiffened and turned a steely-eyed gaze to Rebekah. _Wait, how on earth did you figure out whom I was talking to?_

Rebekah physically shrugged. _You created a link with her. I could hear your entire conversation._

_ I never created a link with her!_

E.J. sensed when the two other vampires turned around to glare at her. She squeaked and leapt up, bolting for the door at vampiric speed and hoping she could get away in time. She paid no attention to the human students, who were pretty much ignoring everything around them.

She was breathing heavily when she reached the front doors, but her relief was short-lived when she was picked up and slammed against the nearest wall of lockers. She gasped in pain and glared down at her assailant. Now that she could see his face, she could see that Kol was indeed very sexy. His dark eyes penetrated right through her, his deliciously curly dark hair framing his pale face. Underneath his leather jacket he wore a red shirt elaborately decorated with black ink and around his neck he wore a number of dog tags.

Rebekah stepped up beside him and smirked up at her. "Did you honestly believe you could get away from two Originals, little girl?"

E.J.'s mind froze at the word "Originals." She remembered what Damon had said about the Originals—a "family of humans" whose matriarch had turned into vampires with a spell. Could Rebekah and Kol honestly be from that Original family?

"Who are you?" Kol purred, sounding both irritatingly sexy and menacing at the same time. He leaned in close to E.J. and breathed heavily into her face. "Do tell, because we really do care."

E.J. lifted up her chin and glared at him. "I'm not telling you anything," she said with more bravery than she felt.

"The hard way it is then," Kol spoke again. When his pupils dilated, E.J. momentarily panicked before remembering the amount of vervain that she had ingested last night.

"Who are you?" Kol asked, his voice taking on the low and seductive tone that was common for a vampire compelling another being.

E.J. blinked up at him before grinning wickedly. "Angeline Jolie. You didn't recognize me?"

E.J. suddenly found herself flying through the air. She slammed into the opposite wall of lockers and hit the floor with a soft _thump_. She groaned and turned over onto her side, clutching her abdomen and thinking that she had probably broken a few ribs. She heard footsteps approach her but she could do nothing as she was picked up and pressed against where she had hit. Her feet were now on the ground, but that made E.J. no less helpless as Kol's eyes bore into hers.

"She could hear me with no link, Kol," Rebekah hissed.

Kol nodded. "Call Elijah."

_There are more of them_? E.J. thought dejectedly. And here she had thought she only had two psycho Originals to deal with. Whoever this Elijah was, she had a feeling he could take both of the two who were currently taking her hostage.

Rebekah whipped out her iPhone from the purse she had slung over her shoulder and quickly hit a button. E.J. was breathing heavily when Rebekah put the phone up to her ear and waited, tapping her foot impatiently. E.J. could only watch helplessly as she was sent off to her possible doom.

"Don't know what Elijah will have us do," Kol quipped, either to simply make conversation or make her nervous, E.J. couldn't tell, "but I assure you he will want us to take you hostage. To figure out who you are, you know?"

"You can't do this," E.J. hissed at him, but she already knew she had lost. She could now hear the distant sounds of Rebekah talking to the person on the other end of the line, but all she could take in was Kol.

"Sorry about this," Kol apologized, grinning wickedly, "but I don't want any screaming." E.J. only had time to suck in a breath before Kol reached out and grasped her by the neck.

TVDTVDTVDTVDTVD

When she woke up, she found herself seated in a comfortable armchair in front of a lit fireplace. She stared into the blazing fire, momentarily forgetting what had happened. The memories came back to her one by one, but she still had no idea how she had gotten there.

"I do apologize for my brother." E.J. jerked up at the voice and spun around to look behind her. Leaning against the wall beside a dark-wooded bookcase with a glass of wine in his hand was a man. He looked to be several years older than Kol and Rebekah with neatly trimmed reddish-brown hair. He was dressed in brown slacks and a dark-brown-and-light-brown-striped dress shirt under a light-brown vest. E.J. spotted a suit jacket laid over the back of a chair on the other side of the room.

E.J. made no attempt to answer, keeping her oak-green eyes trained on the man. Her brain was sluggish, but she had put two and two together and gotten four. In other words, this man must be Elijah. He certainly didn't look menacing, not like Rebekah and Kol. Wait, hadn't he said that Kol was his brother?

"You would do well to learn how to shield your thoughts," Elijah broke into her musings. "You are quite literally like an open book to me."

E.J. started and glared at him.

Elijah, or whom she assumed to be Elijah, smiled warmly and pushed off from the wall. As he approached her, she stiffened, but he seated himself in an armchair opposite her with no indication of malice. "My name is Elijah," the man said, "but you had already guessed that." E.J. nodded uncertainly. "You have already met my brother and sister. Rebekah and Kol may have been a bit—unorthodox in their methods."

"What happened?" E.J. was actually not surprised to hear that the three of them were all siblings. She really should have guessed that, knowing that the Originals were family. For some reason, Elijah did not frighten her as his siblings did. He just seemed more . . . _human_. Rebekah was a bitch and Kol was just—terrifying. Elijah seemed like any other middle-aged man that she might come across on a street or in Walmart.

"My brother felt the need to break your neck to hinder your screaming," Elijah answered mildly. "I do not approve of his methods, but I have learned long ago that Kol is difficult to control when I am present, nearly impossible when I am not."

That would explain why she had blacked out for a time. "I really don't know how I could hear everything," she suddenly spoke. She sensed that Elijah might actually listen to reason. "But I really don't think that warranted being kidnapped."

Elijah chuckled lightly. "It is indeed peculiar that you could hear Rebekah and Kol's conversation, but I would agree that it was unnecessary to 'kidnap' you. However, since you are here now, would you do me the favor of introducing yourself?"

There really was no harm in it. "Tell you what." For some reason, E.J. decided that she had a place to negotiate. "If you tell me who _you all_ are, then I will be more than happy to tell you who I am."

Elijah looked thoughtful. "Am I to assume you expect more than just our names?" E.J. nodded firmly. "Very well then. I believe that is a very reasonable request."

Elijah stood and strode toward the fireplace, setting his half-full wineglass on the mantle above the fireplace. "I am the eldest among the Originals, the first vampires to walk the earth. A thousand years ago, my mother cast a spell that combined the immortality of a White Oak tree with that of the power of the sun to turn us into what we are. I will not go into details, but we became what we are the very next day." He sighed and reached out for his glass again, taking a small sip, keeping his eyes trained on the fire. "Among us there is myself, my brother Finn, my brother Niklaus, Kol, and then Rebekah. We have only recently begun to reside here in this house. Niklaus—" He paused, glancing at her as if unsure if he should say anymore. He must have decided that he could trust E.J. (or simply had nothing to fear from her) for he finally continued, "Niklaus had—kept us all together for a very long time and he brought us all here. We had been—estranged, us all, for some time, and have only recently decided to attempt to live together again." He sighed and shook his head. "I was afraid of what Niklaus would do if we left him again."

Something about how he spoke of this Niklaus person told E.J. that there was more to the story than Elijah was telling her, but she let it go since she certainly wasn't going to give her whole story either. "My turn, I guess." Elijah glanced up in surprise when she spoke, as if he had forgotten she was there. "My name is E.J. Hemmings, and I was the daughter of Rosalinda and Gregory Hemmings. You've probably already figured out that I'm a vampire, so I don't need to elaborate that they died." Elijah nodded. "I was an only child—I don't know why they never had any other children, but they didn't—and I was homeschooled most of my life. After they died, my friend Gloria took me in and became like a mother to me. It was her who directed me to come here, before she died, too, that is."

"I am sorry," Elijah spoke quietly. E.J. believed he really was, too. "How did you have the misfortune to become one of us?"

E.J. scrunched up her nose and shrugged. "I was attacked by a strange man a few weeks after I turned fourteen, and he fed on me, but . . . ." she trailed off and shook her head. "But I never drank any of _his_ blood and he never killed me, I don't think, anyway. I honestly have no idea. I kinda feel like I've always been this way."

To his credit, Elijah kept a straight face. "I hope that you realize that that is impossible. No one is born a vampire. We cannot procreate, so that is entirely not plausible."

E.J. nodded. "Yeah, I know that. I can't change my story, though."

Elijah nodded slowly. "I see. It seems that perhaps there is more to you than meets the eye." E.J. blinked up at him, wondering what he was going to do with her.

"Where have you been staying?" Elijah asked, almost as an afterthought.

"At the Salvatore Boarding House."

Elijah didn't even look surprised. "Then I will call Damon and have him come and pick you up. Perhaps we can sort this out another time?"

It seemed that E.J. had been right about her first impression of the eldest Original. He really was a lot nicer than his siblings. She smiled in relief. "Thank you so much!"

Elijah merely nodded at her. "I am not promising that this is over, but I will not hold you here against your will."

E.J. nodded. "For the record, you are a _lot_ nicer than your siblings." Elijah only looked sad as he left the room.

Damon did not look happy when one of the Originals—E.J. couldn't remember his name—answered the door. "Yes?" he asked Damon mildly, looking as if he'd rather be anywhere else but there.

"You know why I'm here," Damon snarled. "You kidnapped my kid!" E.J. raised an eyebrow at that.

The Original sighed. "First of all, Salvatore, _I_ did not kidnap her. That would have been Kol and Rebekah. And, second of all, I was under the impression that she was not your 'kid.'"

Damon glared up at him. "Will you just please let me in, Finn?" he asked with a barely suppressed snarl.

E.J. repeated his name to herself several times so that she would not forget it. "He doesn't have to come in, Finn. I'll just go out."

Finn glanced down at her, looking genuinely concerned. "Are you sure that you want to go with him, miss?"

E.J. giggled. Finn was more like Elijah in personality, not being menacing and a total douchebag, that is. "Don't make me second guess myself, or else I might not."

"You could stay here," Finn offered, earning him a murderous glare from Damon.

"I like you and Elijah," E.J. explained, "but I'm not so sure that I could live under the same roof as Kol and Rebekah. Rebekah harassed me, unprovoked, mind you, and Kol snapped my neck."

Finn looked thoughtful. "Good point. All right." He stepped aside and motioned for E.J. to go out. She smiled and nodded politely at him as she strode out the door and right past Damon. While Finn was standing so near, Damon clearly did not dare say or do anything, and just followed her down the stone walkway to his parked car, muttering under his breath.

"I can't believe this!" Damon waited to sputter until they were at his car. E.J. was pretty sure Finn could still hear them, since he was standing in the doorway watching them, but Damon either hadn't noticed or didn't care. E.J. was betting the latter.

"The nerve!" Damon continued. "Kidnapping you like that and then even _suggesting_ that you should stay there! As if I am an unfit guardian!"

E.J. raised an eyebrow up at him. "You're no kind of guardian. You're my landlord."

"I'm Stefan's legal guardian!" Damon sputtered. "And, as far as I'm concerned, I am your guardian until you miraculously age yourself to eighteen overnight."

E.J. frowned but climbed into the passenger side when he opened the door for her. She knew that Damon had a point. Even for a vampire, she wasn't very old, and really should not be living on her own. She suspected that was why Gloria had directed her to the Boarding House. Maybe she had known Damon would act—

Her thoughts abruptly ground to a halt. _Wait, what if Gloria had actually _known_ Damon?_

"Did you by any chance ever know a witch named Gloria?" E.J. asked once Damon had climbed into the car.

He fit his key into the ignition and started the car, glancing up at her briefly. "Not that I know of. Why do you ask?"

E.J. sighed and slumped further into her seat. "She was my godmother, and she took care of me after my parents died. She died a few months ago."

"Oh." Damon turned around in the Originals' large circular driveway and pulled out onto the road. He frowned as he built up his speed. "It's a long shot, but Stefan might know something about it. He—well, we were separated for some time, and he might have met her when I wasn't around."

E.J. nodded. "Yeah, I think I'll do that. Thanks."

Damon sighed and shook his head. "No problem, kid. Just try not to get yourself kidnapped by any crazy bitches or psychotic lunatics—in this case, both—again, okay?"

E.J. giggled and nodded. "But what if I happen to make friends with that crazy bitch and psychotic lunatic?" Damon quirked an eyebrow, but his eyes never left the road. "It could happen!"

"One step at a time, sweetheart," Damon chuckled. "How about you make some _human_ friends first?"

E.J. frowned. "You have human friends?" Who else would Damon introduce her to?

"Don't believe me? There's a little place downtown where we're bound to meet at least one of them. You up for it?"

E.J. shrugged before her face split into a wide grin. "Sounds exciting! But can I invite my crazy-bitch and psychotic-lunatic friends along?"

There was a long pause. "Don't make me call a psychiatrist, kid."

**AN: Now we've delved a little deeper into E.J.'s past, but there's still much more to learn. I'll update soon assuming that my computer isn't kept for several days. Review, pretty please, and let me know your thoughts! You can't see, but I'm making the "puppy-dog" eyes right now. They look like this: *.* Thanks for reading! Let me know if you have any questions or are confused about anything. Or feel free to continue to guess what is so special about E.J. Hint: there are many "layers" to it, and I've only begun to scratch the surface.**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Thank you to my reviewers! To **_**lauren**_**, I'm glad you're enjoying my story! I hope you like this chapter, too. To **_**Marauders12345**_**, E.J.'s a very fun character to write, and I'm still developing her as I go. They didn't actually keep my computer at all, I've just been busy the last couple of days. Yes, I love Damon-E.J. interactions, too. They're fun to write. To everybody, I have nothing else to say, so enjoy this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: See previous chapters. E.J. belongs to me and cannot be used without my permission.**

"You brought me to a bar?" E.J. hopped out of the passenger side and blinked up at the flashing sign _The Grill_. The parking lot was packed, and Damon had had to park on the street. Damon hopped out from his side and strode over to hers, taking her by the arm and marching her up the driveway to the door.

"It is not a bar," Damon defended himself as they walked. "It's The Grill. Completely different."

E.J. rolled her eyes. "Completely." The door jingled as they entered and E.J. shook Damon off and trotted ahead of him. The inside was crawling with people, the tables almost all filled up. However, the bar was only occupied by a few people, and that's where Damon immediately headed.

_What about introducing me to one of your human friends?_ E.J. projected at him, irritated. She stepped down into the main section of the restaurant/bar and snaked her way between the tables. A section of the bar had couches set up where some people were sitting laughing far too loudly, drinks in hand.

_Let me know when you see any, and I'll be glad to_. E.J. rolled her eyes and decided to take matters into her own hands.

_You suck_. She decided to ignore Damon for the rest of the time they would be here.

"Hey!" E.J. jumped and swung around, her heart racing wildly. She had been sneaked up on too many times in the past two days to not suspect the worst. She immediately calmed when she saw who it was. The girl from English class approached her, smiling broadly.

"I don't believe we've ever properly met," the girl greeted. "I'm Elena, Stefan's girlfriend." She stuck out her hand, and E.J. shook it heartily, laughing to herself. That would explain her presence at the Boarding House last night!

"E.J.," E.J. returned after releasing the girl's hand. As always, she had been gentle, and she was glad to see that Elena's face was pain-free. "But I guess you knew that."

Elena smiled and motioned at someone behind her. The two other girls from last night approached, greeting E.J. separately, and very differently. The tall blonde girl wearing a skimpy yellow and red sundress was overly perky and the petite African-American girl wearing black shorts, a pictured shirt under a long sleeveless sweater, and a long necklace with a dangling star-shaped pendant barely nodded at her.

"These are my friends Caroline and Bonnie," Elena introduced them, pointing first at the blonde and then at the raven-haired girl. "We were at the house last night, but we never actually saw you."

E.J. laughed and followed Elena as she, Caroline, and Bonnie made their way over to a section of The Grill where a pool table was set up. "I was a little too busy hiding from Damon." E.J. wasn't stupid. Chances were if these girls were acquainted with the Salvatore brothers, then they probably knew about the supernatural persons of the world.

"Damon's a dick, yeah," Caroline piped up matter-of-factly.

"Caroline!" Bonnie scolded. "Language!"

E.J. rolled her eyes. "Nothing I've never heard before, Bonnie." Bonnie immediately blushed and sent Elena an alarmed look. "Oh, you know what I am, don't you?" All three girls nodded. "And that doesn't bother you at all?" Elena immediately shook her head, Bonnie said not a word, but Caroline smiled broadly at her and stepped forward.

"Why would it?" The skin around her eyes became veined, her eyes darkened, and fangs elongated from her mouth for a few seconds. E.J. blinked in surprise before bursting into laughter and grasping Caroline's hand.

"No way!" E.J. squealed. "And here I thought Rebekah was the only girl you-know-what in town!"

The three girls froze. "You know Rebekah?" Elena asked after a few long moments. E.J. realized that maybe she should have kept that quiet.

But, now, she had to give them an answer. "Er, she sorta came to my room and threw me around a little last night."

"That bitch!" Caroline exclaimed. "Don't worry, E.J." She came around to E.J.'s side and wrapped an arm around the shorter girl. "You're with us now. Rebekah better stay away!" E.J. giggled and allowed Caroline to lead her up the steps to the pool table, Elena and Bonnie following.

"You ever played pool before, E.J.?" Elena asked as she set up for the break. "My friend Matt and I used to play it all the time, so I'd say I'm pretty good. Caroline pretty much sucks, but Bonnie's a natural."

E.J. grinned, twirled her cue in her hands, and expertly lined up for the break. "We'll just have to see, huh?" The three other girls raised an eyebrow at each other before Elena removed the triangle and stepped aside. E.J. took a few moments to line up her shot before expertly thrusting her cue into the perfectly formed triangle. The balls went all directions, but every single one shot into one of the four corners and fell down into the holes.

Elena, Bonnie, and Caroline stared at her in disbelief. "I used to play professionally back in the '70s," E.J. explained, grinning triumphantly. "Don't believe what you hear. _That_ was all the rage back then." She twirled her cue in her hands again. "I was the state champion of Nebraska three years in a row."

"You're pretty good." The four girls turned to find Kol standing behind them, holding his own cue. "May I join you?" He grinned wickedly at E.J. and, before any of the other girls could say a word, she had thrust the butt of her cue into his gut.

Kol looked surprised but barely winced from the blow. "I guess I probably deserved that." His grin turned devilish.

"You broke my neck!" E.J. snarled at him, thrusting the cue at him again. This time, he caught it and no matter how hard E.J. tugged she couldn't get it free. "And then you kidnapped me!" she continued, still tugging on her cue.

"Leave her be, Kol." The other voice broke through the tension and E.J. stiffened. This was one voice she had never heard before, but she could sense that its owner was dangerous. Kol immediately let go of her cue, sneering at her, before turning and stalking away to stand beside another man.

He was shorter than Kol, but presented a more imposing figure in the way he held himself and the vibe he gave off. He was very attractive with closely cropped light-brown hair and vividly blue eyes. When he smiled at E.J., she felt as if she might drown in those eyes. And he had dimples!

"I apologize for my brother," the man spoke, looking E.J. up and down with some interest before turning his attention to Caroline. "He can be quite a brute."

"What do you want, Klaus?" Caroline demanded, standing tall even though E.J. could tell she was nervous. Klaus's smile wavered briefly before he recovered and strode toward Caroline, reaching out a hand to brush a lock of her hair behind her ear.

"Nothing you haven't already given me, love," he breathed seductively into Caroline's ear. She stomped on his foot and Klaus was surprised enough to stumble backwards, although E.J. doubted he was hurt.

Kol giggled darkly. "Rejected! How does it feel, Nikky?" Klaus spun around and leapt at his brother, who deftly avoided his grasp.

It suddenly clicked in E.J.'s mind who this man was. "Are you Niklaus?" Klaus froze and turned around to stare at her, nodding slowly. "Sorry, your brother Elijah mentioned you. By the way, what did you do that was so horrible?"

The look on Niklaus's face was priceless. "Did Elijah say I had done something horrible?" he asked, sounding almost wounded.

E.J. slowly shook her head. "No, not in so many words, but that's what I was inferring. Question: Are you like Finn and Elijah or Kol and Rebekah?"

Niklaus was clearly startled by this question. "Little girl," he spoke, sounding confused, something that clearly amused Kol, "who are you exactly?"

Kol jumped in, "She's that girl I was telling you about. The one me and Rebekah kidnapped. Her name's A.J., or something."

E.J. glared. "E.J."

"Yeah, whatever." Kol waved her away. "Anyway, we brought her to the house so Elijah could have a 'talk' with her, but he decided to be all chivalrous and let her go."

Niklaus turned away from his brother and focused his attention on E.J. Normally, whenever Caroline was around, he hardly found himself paying any attention to anyone else, but he found himself drawn to this strange girl. "In what way do you mean, 'Am I like Finn and Elijah or like Kol and Rebekah?'"

"You know." E.J. shrugged. "Are you a total dick like Kol or a gentleman like Elijah?"

Niklaus blinked before he chuckled, glancing at his brother. Kol looked slightly miffed, but he must have been wary of his brother because he kept his mouth shut. E.J. took notice. "I would hope that I am not a 'dick,'" Niklaus finally answered, "but I am sorry to say that I am not anywhere near as chivalrous as Elijah."

"_No one_ is," Kol muttered, sounding like a dejected child. "I have a few names for you, too, kid," he muttered to E.J. Niklaus glared at him sharply, and Kol promptly fell silent.

"So, you're more like Finn?" E.J. inferred, looking thoughtful. "He's totally not a dick—he's really sweet, even though he'd never admit it—but he's not what I'd call a gentleman either."

Niklaus actually laughed. "I do not believe I have ever been compared to Finn before." He chuckled. "I am afraid we are nothing alike, but I suppose we are similar in that matter."

"I need a drink," Kol suddenly announced, glaring hideously at E.J. before stomping down the steps and over to the bar.

"Get me one while you're at it!" Niklaus hollered after him before returning his attention to E.J. "Nice meeting you, love."

E.J. grinned up at him. "You too, Nik. Can I call you 'Nik,' or do you go by 'Niklaus'? Or do you prefer 'Klaus,' because that's what Caroline called you, you know."

The other three girls were expecting the hybrid to lose his patience with E.J., who was even stranger than they'd first thought, but he only appeared to be amused. He chuckled again. "You, my dear, may call me whatever you like."

E.J. giggled. "I like you, Nik. Think you can buy me a drink? I don't think the bartender will believe I'm sixty-five-years-old."

Niklaus laughed and held out his arm. "It would be my pleasure, love."

E.J. took his arm and asked as they were walking to the bar, "Are you British?"

"Did that really just happen?" Bonnie asked in disbelief.

"It did," Caroline replied, as if in a daze.

Elena shook her head and pulled out her phone. "I'm texting Stefan. Damon clearly isn't paying any attention to her." She jerked her head at Damon, who had already downed five drinks and was now voraciously hitting on a blonde girl who looked as if she might be a prostitute. "Somebody needs to tell E.J. that Klaus is dangerous."

Bonnie frowned and leaned against the pool table. "But Klaus seemed to like her. Maybe we should just stay out of it."

Caroline reluctantly agreed. "I hate Klaus just as much as the rest of you." Elena and Bonnie shared a knowing look when Caroline wasn't looking. "But Bonnie's right. E.J.'s not gonna believe it until she sees it, and Klaus is being totally nice to her." She wrinkled her nose. "It's really weird."

Elena smirked teasingly at her and reached out to play with a lock of Caroline's hair. "Are you jealous, Care Bear?"

"No!" Caroline leapt away from Elena and glared at her friends, who were now both snickering. "Screw you!" Caroline cried as she turned on her heel and stomped away.

E.J. eagerly hopped up onto a bar stool as she and Niklaus finally reached the bar. Niklaus stood while he called the bartender over. "Two margaritas, please, mate," Niklaus ordered cheerily, grinning up at the tall boy with tousled brown hair and deep brown eyes.

The boy glanced over at E.J. and shook his head. "Ah, no, Klaus. She's way too young. Don't even think about it."

Niklaus sighed and shook his head, leaning forward and staring the boy in the eyes. "Do we need to do this the hard way, then, Gilbert?"

The boy shook his head, smiling. "I've been on vervain for months, Klaus. You can't compel me."

E.J. laid a hand on Niklaus's arm. "Allow me."

Niklaus stepped back. "Be my guest, love."

The boy turned to her, still shaking his head and smiling. "Look, kid, there's nothing that you can do to—"

E.J. leaned forward and looked the boy dead in the eye. "You will do whatever Niklaus or I says, and you will not question us." Her pupils slowly receded as her compulsion sunk in.

The boy slowly nodded his head and backed away. "Yeah, yeah, okay," he said, taking the towel from his shoulder and laying it on the counter. "Your drinks will be right up."

"Very impressive," Niklaus praised, looking at E.J. in a new perspective. "How did you know he wasn't on vervain?"

E.J. looked back and grinned up at him. "Oh, he was."

The smile disappeared from Niklaus's face and he suddenly leaned in close to E.J. and grasped her by her shirtfront. Her short pink athletic shorts and gray sleeveless under armor offered him little material to grab onto, but he somehow managed. "You cannot compel someone on vervain," he hissed in her face. "Why are you lying to me?"

E.J. sighed and rested her elbow on the bar counter. "Yup, you're definitely like Kol."

Niklaus started and immediately released her, stepping back. "I am nothing like that imbecile!" he hissed.

E.J. shrugged. "I can compel people on vervain. Believe it or not. Makes no difference to me."

Niklaus's anger slowly abated and he sat in the barstool to E.J.'s left. "How do you compel someone on vervain?" he asked in a low voice.

E.J. sighed, glanced around to make sure no one was listening, and leaned in close to speak only to Niklaus. "A friend of mine showed me how. But she said it wouldn't work for normal vampires. Maybe it would work for you?"

Niklaus sat back and appraised her. "How?" he asked simply.

"To be able to compel someone on vervain, you must be full of it," E.J. answered as if she were in class. "That's what I did, and now I can compel anyone on vervain. I wanted to be able to compel Damon because he's a total dick."

Niklaus blinked at her. "Damon is a vampire."

E.J. raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "No kidding."

Niklaus shook his head. "Only an Original can compel other vampires."

E.J. shrugged and leaned back in her seat. "I can. I have no idea how, but I can."

"There you are!" Damon suddenly appeared behind her, clearly drunk, and grabbed her by the arm. "I've been looking everywhere for you! What the hell are you doing with this demon?" He nodded over at Niklaus, who looked mildly offended.

E.J. tried to shake him off, but Damon's grip was strong. "Maybe you should have stayed with me instead of running off to get drunk off your ass. And Nik is a hell of a lot less of a demon than you are, dick!"

Damon groaned, shaking his head as if it hurt and picking her up from the chair. "Come on. We're leaving."

"Leave her be!" Niklaus immediately leapt up and threw Damon off of E.J. "Do not touch her without her permission!"

E.J. held up a hand and, amazingly, Niklaus listened, stepping back and sitting back down. E.J. stepped up to Damon and looked dead into his drunken eyes. Her pupils dilated as she spoke in a low voice, "You should really go out and check on your car, Damon. I think you may have a flat tire."

Damon blinked for several long moments before he slowly straightened and shook his head as if his ears were filled with wax. "I think I'll go check on the car," he murmured, turning on his heel and staggering toward the door.

Niklaus gazed at E.J. in amazement as the young girl climbed back into her seat and quickly threw her finger over her shoulder. She grinned broadly at Niklaus and settled into her seat right when their drinks were brought to them. E.J. plucked the glass up with two fingers and held it out to Niklaus. "Bottoms up!" She tilted her head back and drank heartily.

_This is my kind of woman_, Niklaus thought to himself happily.

TVDTVDTVDTVDTVD

As Damon was walking to his car, he felt strange. He couldn't remember why he was going there, but he couldn't stop himself. His feet seemed to be moving of their own accord as he crossed the parking lot and trotted across the grass until he finally reached his car.

"Did that girl actually compel me?" he muttered to himself as he went about inspecting his tires, again not of his own free will. He froze when he saw that one of his tires was indeed flat. "Holy %*# !" he cried, hurrying around the nose of the car and kneeling before the injured tire. "That little creep!" he seethed as he lovingly ran his fingertips over the deflated rubber. The tire was literally flat, the air almost completely emptied from it.

Damon was no mechanic, but he did know how to change a tire. Unfortunately, his car was parked off to the side of a road and, although Mystic Falls was not a busy town, he was still wary. He sighed as he trotted to the trunk of his car and popped it up. And Stefan had thought him paranoid to keep a spare in his trunk!

He lifted it out with ease, holding it up with one hand as he reached in for the car jack. Right then, a silver Chevy drove on by, and the driver stared in shock out his window. Damon glanced up at him and glared until the man hurriedly sped away.

"I am going to kill her," he muttered as he set about changing his tire. The jack was old and rusted, and it took some work for Damon to fit it under his tire and crank it up. Once the tire was elevated above the ground, he remembered that he needed his toolbox to remove the tire and leapt up to get it.

As he was struggling with removing the bolts holding the tire in place, Elena and Caroline exited The Grill, spotted him, and hurried over. "Damon!" Elena cried, running ahead of Caroline and reaching Damon first. Caroline followed at a more leisurely pace, watching Damon's struggles with interest.

"What, Teresa?" Damon grumbled, finally managing to yank the first bolt off and moving on to the second.

Elena blinked. "Teresa?"

"Barbie's brunette friend?" Damon asked with a huff. "Don't you kids know anything nowadays?"

Elena glanced back at Caroline and shrugged before turning back to her boyfriend's brother. "Do you realize that E.J. is getting awfully chummy with Klaus?"

"No kidding!" Damon snarled, yanking off the second bolt and moving on to the third. "I _thought_ that's who it was with her when I went up to her to take her home!"

Elena frowned. "What happened?"

"Klaus happened," Damon snapped. "He threw me off E.J. And then the brat happened! I swear that kid actually compelled me!"

Caroline snorted. "You're delusional, Damon. Vampires can't compel other vampires."

Damon yanked off the third bolt and moved on to the final one. "Well, _someone_ convinced me to come out here and check for any flat tires, and I'm pretty sure it wasn't Klaus."

Elena sighed. "But, Damon, you actually _did_ have a flat. I keep telling you you're reading too much into this."

Damon yanked off the last bolt, tossed his tool into his small orange toolbox, and yanked the tire off with one pull. He tossed it aside, narrowly missing Elena, who leapt to the side. The doppelganger glared at him, but Damon ignored her as he lifted up his spare and shoved it into place. "How am I reading too much into this, Elena?" Damon finally asked, sounding weary. "I can take that she knew about the flat because maybe she noticed it or something. But that doesn't explain why I came out to check for one. _I_ didn't know about it."

Caroline bit her lip and stepped up beside Elena. "He does have a point, Elena," Caroline reluctantly agreed.

"Thank you!" Damon grumbled. The bolts went on much easier than they had come off, and Damon was soon able to stand, pick up his toolbox, and face the girls head-on. "I can't explain it, Elena," he sighed. "I know E.J. _shouldn't_ be able to compel me. Even if she somehow _can_ compel other vampires, you know I've been on vervain for months, so it shouldn't matter."

Elena sighed and walked with Damon as he moved to fit his toolbox into the far back corner of his car's trunk. She waited as he slammed the trunk closed and turned to her. "Nothing to say?" he asked.

When Elena didn't answer, he brushed past her, picked up his deflated tire, and trotted to the back of The Grill to toss it in the dumpster. There was no hope for it.

Elena and Caroline started dejectedly back to The Grill, but Damon suddenly appeared and went inside ahead of them. "Rude!" Caroline snapped under her breath as she grabbed Elena's wrist and tugged her through the door, the bell jingling above them, after Damon.

They spotted him making his way over to E.J. and Klaus, who looked as if they had been drinking nonstop for some time. Elena and Caroline hurried over, Elena to make sure Damon didn't do anything stupid and Caroline because she was a little jealous of E.J., although she'd never admit it.

E.J. glanced up, her eyes a drunken glaze, at Damon when he approached her and giggled. Amazingly, the elder vampire had sobered up nicely and now had a distinct advantage over his drunk tenant. "I don't know how you did it," Damon murmured to her under his breath, "but I am not amused. We're going home, now."

Klaus looked up and laughed when he saw Damon. "You again!" he wheezed, pounding his fist on the counter and giggling uncontrollably. "I thought we got rid of you!"

"I'm taking E.J. home," Damon informed the hybrid calmly, trying his best to keep from attacking Klaus.

"You ain't taking her nowhere!" Klaus suddenly became serious, but he stood on shaky feet as he hopped down and zeroed in on Damon.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Kol appeared and easily herded his brother away from the elder Salvatore brother. "Easy, big brother," Kol soothed, sitting his brother back down onto the stool and peering into his face to judge just how drunk he was.

"This was great!" E.J. hiccupped, speaking for the first time. "We should do it again sometime!"

Kol turned to E.J. and gave her a dark, menacing look. Even in her drunken state, the girl knew better than to further goad him and hopped down from her stool, hanging her head and shuffling toward Damon. "There you go," Kol said. "Just head on back to the Boarding House with Damon, love. Little girls like you should never consume that much alcohol."

"Come off it, Kol!" Klaus snarled weakly. "We was jus' havin' some fu-u-un!"

Kol ignored him as he looped his brother's arm around his shoulders, lifted him up, and turned around to nod politely at Damon. "Get her home, mate. She needs rest and a big cup of coffee."

Damon nodded, for once at a loss for words. "Thank you," he said unexpectedly, shocking both Elena and Caroline. Kol turned to him, eyebrows raised and an amused smirk on his face. "I might hate your guts," Damon continued mildly, "but I'm kind of glad you were here. Your brother's dangerous when drunk."

Kol glanced down at Klaus, who looked as if he might collapse at any moment. The younger Original glanced back up at Damon and nodded politely. "I may be evil incarnate," Kol quipped smartly, "but I do love keeping my brother in line. Ciao!" In the blink of an eye, Kol had sped him and his brother out of The Grill.

Damon sighed in relief and glanced down to E.J., who was yawning and swaying on her feet. "Be nice to her, Damon," Elena suddenly spoke. Damon glanced up at her and almost smiled at the determined glare on his brother's girlfriend's face. Caroline's glare was a bit more menacing, and, though Damon might have been stronger than the blonde baby vampire, he knew better than to take her on when she was angry.

Instead, he promised, "I will," swept E.J. up into his arms, and strode past Elena and Caroline out the door.

**AN: I'm hoping to update very soon. Unfortunately, these quick updates will abate very soon, because I'm heading off to college in the next couple of weeks. I'm excited, but I won't have a lot of time to work on this until I get the hang of everything. Again, you lovely people, tell me what you thought of this chapter! I know most people don't review probably just because they have nothing to say, but don't worry about it. Just tell me what you thought, I don't expect anything deep. Thanks for reading!**

**READ THIS!**

**P.S. There's still a possibility I'll do some kind of contest thing, but I haven't decided yet. Basically, the first person to guess the three points of what's "special" about E.J. would get something. Probably a one-shot of his/her choice, but I don't know. If that idea interests anybody, let me know! If I do the one-shot thing, it would be fairly open, but I would have conditions. I want to see more people guessing, though, otherwise I won't bother! If you want hints, I will be more than happy to give them.**

**Here are some: E.J. can compel other vampires and vervain does not have much of an effect on her. Rebekah "felt" something when E.J. first came to town and E.J. could "hear" Rebekah thought-speaking to Kol. Not all of these have any connection with the TV series. I won't say which point(s) these clues belong to, you'll have to guess. If enough people say they are interested, I will give you all the first point.**


	6. Chapter 6

**To **_**JennyMikaelson**_**: Ah, I see by your penname that you love the Originals, too. I won't say how close you are (don't want to spoil the story for you), but you're on the right track! There's more to it, though. I'm an author who loves complicated plots and plot twists. Expect the unexpected from me. I'm glad you like it! Thanks so much for your review, I love every one of them.**

**To **_**taramegareader**_**: Thanks for the review! I'm glad you're liking this story of mine, and I'm happy to present you with the next chapter. Feel free to guess away at what E.J.'s secret is as well. If you have no idea, then just come up with some random nonsense that I can get a good laugh from **

**To **_**Marauders12345**_**: Thank you for the review, my faithful reviewer! Does Klaus have to be up to something? Okay, yes, probably. He feels an attraction, non-romantic, to E.J., if that helps. You're on the right track, too, but there's a lot more to it! As I told another reviewer, I love complexity! It breathes life into an otherwise boring story. Trust me, E.J.'s secret is complicated. I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!**

**AN: Again, thank you to my reviewers! That's the most I've received so far, and I'm ecstatic! Anyway, instead of just the first, I am going to give you all of the three points:**

**Who are E.J.'s parents and why is that significant?**

**What is it about that box of E.J.'s, anyway?**

**What does Gloria have to do with everything?**

**Guess away, lovely readers! The first point will begin to be revealed in a few chapters, so that's the first to go with. They're not necessarily in order, by the way. But they all tie together, sort of! When you're ready for your final guess, say so. That's the one I'll take. The first one to correctly guess the first point (as a final guess) will receive a point. And so on and so on. I'll explain more next update, this is getting really long. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: E.J. and the idea belongs to me. Nothing else.**

The foyer was empty when Kol carried Niklaus through the doorway on his shoulders. The drive home had been an eventful one, with Niklaus trying to "break free" every thirty seconds. Kol had nearly broken his brother's neck just to keep him still. The only thing that stopped him from doing so was the fear of a sober Niklaus's retaliation if he ever found out.

"Hello!" Kol bellowed, his voice echoing more than once in the large foyer. He was not too keen on having to care for Niklaus himself, and he really hoped that one of his other siblings was home. He only had to wait for a few seconds before someone approached him at vampiric speed.

Finn did not look happy, standing there with a bowl of popcorn cradled in his arms. He had not bothered to change his clothes from yesterday, still dressed in his gray sweatpants and SpongeBob Squarepants shirt. His siblings could not seem to explain to him that people of the modern time did not wear the same clothes every day. And that they bathed regularly, brushed their teeth, shaved, etc.

"What?" Finn grouched, shoving a handful of popcorn into his mouth and chewing noisily. _How did he ever land a hottie like Sage_? Kol thought to himself.

Finn froze and glared at him. "What did you just call my fiancée?" he snarled, although the menace was lost when said around a mouthful of popped kernels.

When Finn had informed his siblings of his proposing to Sage, they had been more than a little surprised. Elijah had gone on to lecture him about the commitment of marriage, Niklaus had laughed himself silly for a good ten minutes, Rebekah had demanded to know where Sage was and had stormed off when Finn had told her without thinking (her brothers still did not know where she had gone), and Kol himself had simply asked, "When's the wedding?" They were still not yet used to the idea, but Finn and Sage were in no hurry to "take the next step" and hadn't even picked a date yet, disappointing Kol when his question went unanswered.

"Reading minds is rude, Finny," Kol whined. "And so is not bathing for two weeks."

"The water falls from the ceiling!" Finn exclaimed, his eyes widening in horror. Kol knew that the distraction would only last a few minutes before Finn remembered his earlier thought-comment. "It is not natural!"

"It's just like rain, Finn," Kol sighed, adjusting Niklaus on his shoulders. Hadn't Finn noticed him yet? He was acting oblivious to Niklaus's presence (unconscious though it was).

"It does not rain indoors!" Finn retorted. He suddenly set his bowl of popcorn down on the floor (Elijah would not be happy about that) and looked Kol in the eye. "Are you going to tell me why Niklaus is passed out on your shoulders, reeking of alcohol, or do I have to ask?" he followed with a question, startling Kol.

"We went to The Grill," Kol explained mildly. "I went off by myself, and, when I sensed that Nikky was getting more riled up than normal, I tracked him down and found him drunk off his ass." Finn looked confused. "That's modern-speak for the buttocks, Finny."

"Why would they call the buttocks a donkey?" Finn asked in confusion as he stepped forward to assist Kol in lowering Niklaus to the ground.

Kol snorted, unable to stop himself. When Finn said it like that, it did seem rather ridiculous. "Same reason obnoxious women are called female dogs, I guess."

Finn had apparently dropped the topic, for he was now focusing his attention on Niklaus. "Niklaus!" he hollered with a slap to the younger Original's face.

The strike awoke the hybrid, who jerked up and groaned loudly, reaching up to hold his probably pounding head. "_Hvað er að gerast?_" ("What is going on?") Finn and Kol were surprised to hear their native tongue come from their brother's lips, but Niklaus did not even notice. "_Hvers vegna er höfuð mitt meiða?_" ("Why does my head hurt?")

"You had a wild time at a bar, Nik," Finn answered calmly, the first of the brothers to recover. Niklaus hadn't spoken in their childhood language since before he had learned another, which had been very soon after they had turned. Niklaus held anything to do with their native home with contempt, especially their language. His siblings suspected it had to do with their father, but none of them were sure.

Niklaus blinked at Finn in confusion. "_Hvers vegna talar þú svo undarlega, bróðir?"_ ("Why do you speak so strangely, brother?")

In a panic, Finn grabbed his brother and snapped his neck with one strong twist. Kol stared at him, but he had been tempted to do the same thing. "What the hell?" Kol breathed in shock. "He just got drunk, not amnesia."

Finn looked shocked, staring down at his hands and Niklaus's unconscious body in horror. "Why did I just do that?" he murmured, looking horrified.

Kol sighed and rolled his eyes, strolling over to slap his older brother on the back of the head. "Snap out of it, Finny. We've gotta get Nik up to his room. Maybe he'll remember who he is when he wakes up?"

Finn didn't reply as he robotically bent down to pick his brother up. Kol watched as Finn lifted Niklaus up onto his shoulders, adjusting him more gently than necessary. "He's not going to break, Finn," Kol spoke quietly. For once, Kol did not feel the need to "break the tension" with an inappropriate joke, like he normally would. "You didn't really hurt him," Kol continued. "He can't be killed, remember? How many times has he reminded us of that?" Kol suddenly stiffened and cleared his throat. "'I am the hybrid!'" he badly mimicked his brother.

Instead of smiling, like Kol had been going for, Finn glared heatedly at him, spun on his heel, and trotted up the staircase. Kol's face fell. "Well, I thought it was funny," he muttered as he followed his brother.

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Elijah did not get out often, certainly not to be with a woman. Carol Lockwood was a lovely woman, and Elijah had grown quite fond of her. When she had called him that morning to ask him over for afternoon tea, he had been delighted to oblige her. He did find it strange, though, how she kept complimenting him, laughing at nearly everything he said (and he was not one for being funny), and obscenely fluttering her eyelashes at him. Even with a thousand years of experience under his belt, Elijah still did not understand the many ways of women, and had yet to pick up that the woman was flirting with him.

Elijah loved his siblings dearly, but he was grateful to be away from them, even if it was only for a few hours of his afternoon. When his cellphone initially went off, he ignored it, but, after the second time, he pulled it out and irritatingly looked at the number.

"Who is it?" Carol asked, sounding almost annoyed herself.

Elijah huffed in annoyance and ignored the call. "Just my brother. He knows not to bother me when I am out." He picked up his teacup and smiled graciously at his host. "Now where were we—?"

He was interrupted by a familiar ringtone, one he had heard not seconds before. "Excuse me," he grumbled as he once more fished his phone out from his pants pocket and glanced at the number. "What do you want, Kol?" he muttered under his breath as he once more ignored the call. Perhaps his youngest brother would finally get the message!

Carol was no longer smiling when Elijah once again turned his attention to her. "Somebody really wants to talk to you," she pouted, sounding dejected.

Elijah sighed and wearily shook his head. "My brother can be thickheaded. I do apologize for—"

When his phone went off for a fourth time, Elijah dug it back out, checked the number, and huffed in annoyance, the closest he would come to losing his cool when a lady was present. "Excuse me," he mumbled as he stood and exited her parlor to tell his brother off in words.

Before he could say a word, the minute he answered the call, the other end exploded, "Elijah, Thor's hammer, I've called you like eighty times! Something's wrong with Nik! Finn broke his neck because he was speaking our tongue, and acting like he didn't know English, and now he's freaked out and totally useless, and I have no idea what to do in this kind of situation! Why the hell did it take you so long to answer, anyway? Where are you? When are you—?"

Elijah was holding the phone several inches from his ear, but his brother's words were still very loud to his hypersensitive hearing. He hadn't caught but a few words of what Kol was saying, and was only waiting for the rampage to stop so he could figure out why on earth his brother felt the need to disturb him on his "day off."

Kol finally trailed off, perhaps sensing he was not being listened to. "Er, Lijah, are you still there?"

Sighing in relief, Elijah put the phone back to his ear. "Yes, Kol, I am. Now, why are you calling me when I'm out?"

There was a short pause. "Come home, Elijah, please? It would be easier to show you."

Elijah frowned, deciding between being annoyed and being worried. "Kol, I can't just—"

"It's Nik, Lijah," Kol interrupted. "Something's happened to him."

That was all Elijah had to hear, memories of his brother's recent illness still fresh in his mind. "I'll be right there."

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Elijah was met at the door by a very stressed-0ut Kol. Without a word, the younger Original grabbed his arm and dragged him across the foyer, up the staircase, and into Niklaus's room. Finn sat in an armchair beside the bed, his head buried in his hands and his shoulders shaking. Niklaus was lying on his back under the covers, his eyes closed and his breathing even.

Elijah extricated himself from Kol's tight grip and strode over to stand over Niklaus. He reached out and ran a hand lightly down his brother's cheek, watching for some reaction. He noticed that his brothers had not bothered to change Niklaus, not that he was surprised. Finn seemed to be beside himself about something, and Kol wouldn't have done it even if Elijah had paid him.

"What happened exactly?" Elijah carefully sat down beside Niklaus, keeping his gaze trained on his unconscious little brother.

Kol sighed and ran a hand through his hair, making his curls stand up on end to a comical point. "Nik and I went to The Grill, and I went off on my own for a couple of hours, only to sense Nik's temper giving way. I tracked him down, and stopped him from ripping Damon Salvatore's heart out, and dragged him home. When I brought him in the door, I called Finn and Finn slapped him to wake him up, but when he woke up he was speaking our native tongue and acting all weird." He frowned. "When Finn spoke English to him, he replied with 'Why do you speak so strangely, brother?' Needless to say, that kinda freaked us out and Finn, uh, broke Nik's neck in his panic. And he hasn't quite forgiven himself for that yet."

Elijah turned to look at his younger brother, whose hands were now dangling between his knees, his gaze focused on him. Elijah smiled and reached out to lay his hands on Finn's shoulders. "It's all right, Finn," he spoke calmly, quietly. "You just panicked. It happens to the best of us. Whatever is wrong with Niklaus, _you_ were not the cause, understood? Even if he wakes up and is still acting strangely, you are _still_ not the cause."

Finn tried to smile, but it fell flat. "Don't try to coddle me, Elijah," he sighed. "I'm not one of them." He jerked his chin at Kol to make his point. "I know it wasn't my fault what happened to Nik, but I acted on impulse." He sighed again and pulled away from Elijah's hands. "Bad things happen when I act on impulse, Elijah. It just scares me that I might do it again, and I might do something worse than just break somebody's neck who can't even die."

Elijah understood. Finn had had some problems with anger and impulsiveness when they had been human. As a teenager, it had often gotten him in trouble and, as an adult, it had nearly cost him or one of his loved ones their lives on several different occasions. Finn was afraid that something would happen and he would do something irreparable.

Elijah might have tried to say something if, at that moment, Niklaus hadn't stirred. He immediately turned his attention to him, reaching out to grasp his younger brother's hand and squeeze it hard. Niklaus's eyes blinked open slowly and he stared up at Elijah uncomprehendingly for a few moments.

Then he noticed where he was and that his hand was being held. "What are you doing?" he muttered, in English, thankfully.

Kol breathed out in relief and laughed. "You had us scared there, Nik! I actually thought you had lost it!"

Niklaus glared and pulled himself up. His movement, unfortunately, brought his post-binge-drinking headache on with a bang and he buried his head in Elijah's shoulder, moaning in pain.

Elijah smiled humorlessly, unconsciously knowing why his brother was suddenly in so much pain, and wrapped an arm around his back. "There, there, little brother," he soothed, half-teasing. "It will go away eventually."

Elijah heard Finn sigh in relief and stand up. "Hangover?" Finn asked his older brother mildly. Elijah glanced up to see Finn gazing down at his younger brother, his eyes looking him up and down. In the back of his mind, Elijah recognized it as concern. Finn might not have said it, but breaking his little brother's neck so abruptly had made him feel guilty. Niklaus might have been the un-killable hybrid, but he was still their kid brother. It was hard not to see him that way, even after all of these years.

Elijah nodded. "That would be my guess. Kol, would you go see if Niklaus has any aspirin in his medicine cabinet?"

Normally, Kol would have argued, but he had experienced enough hangovers in his long life to feel sorry for his older brother. He skipped off to the bathroom, suddenly elated at the chance to search through its contents. He had never been in Niklaus's bathroom before, under fear of an imminent beating if he did, and he was eager to see what it contained.

It was just as elaborate as he had anticipated, and he busied himself with inspecting the enormous claw-footed tub residing in the far left corner of the room, the golden toilet across from it, and the dark-wooded, marble-topped vanity to the right of the tub. Over it hung only a mirror, which reminded Kol of what he was there for.

He first checked under the sink, but found nothing resembling a medicine stockpile. It wasn't until he thought to check the linen cabinet that he found it. The medicine was all lined up neatly, organized by ailment and alphabetized by brand. Niklaus really needed a hobby.

Kol thumbed through the rectangular boxes, gladly messing up his brother's carefully organized system, until he found his objective: a bottle filled with aspirin. "Bingo!" He smirked, trotted toward the sink, and filled up a glass of water halfway. Wouldn't Elijah be proud! He was thinking ahead!

Kol returned a few minutes later, trotting over and holding out the aspirin bottle and glass of water to his eldest brother. Elijah raised an eyebrow and accepted both. "Thank you," he said with an amused smile.

Niklaus was sitting back against his pillows, holding another pillow in front of his face. "Take these, Niklaus," Elijah spoke quietly. "They will help your head.

Niklaus peeked out from behind his improvised sunblock, glanced at the offered medicine, and reluctantly laid his pillow aside. Elijah handed him the glass and quickly unscrewed the cap to the bottle. "How many?" he asked formally.

Niklaus grimaced and held up five fingers. Elijah gave him a look and Niklaus sighed and put down two of his fingers. That seemed to satisfy the elder Original, who shook out three pills and handed them to his brother. Niklaus quickly swallowed the pills dry and then downed the water before he could gag.

"Thank you," he grumbled once he was done, handing the glass back to Elijah. "Can I sleep now?" He burrowed back down into his pillows, reaching out and blindly fumbling for his sunblock pillow before putting it back over his head.

"We'll talk when you feel better." Elijah patted his brother's shoulder, making Niklaus jerk away from his hand, and stood up. He herded Kol out ahead of him as he left the room, saying nothing when Finn sat back down in the chair.

"Why are you still here?" Niklaus's voice drifted from within his mound of pillows.

Finn settled back into the chair, put his foot up on his knee, and closed his eyes. "Go back to sleep, Nik," was all he replied.

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"I'm sorry!" E.J. exclaimed upon entering the boarding house. Her head was pounding and she was beyond irritable, but Damon didn't seem to care. She sniffled as he grabbed her by the elbow and marched her into the main sitting room. "I shouldn't have drunk so much!" she continued, whimpering at Damon's crushing grip.

"You shouldn't have drunk anything at all!" he responded, throwing her down on the couch and turning at vampiric speed to smash his fist into the wall. The force formed a fist-sized crater, but Damon was too delirious with rage to notice.

E.J. tried to become one with the couch. "I'm sorry!" Her voice sounded pathetically small even to her own ears. "I won't do it again, promise!"

"Damn right you won't!" Damon turned on her, snarling. He was on her in seconds, lifting her from the couch and shaking her. "I don't care if you're 'not my kid,' I'm officially grounding you! Hell, I think I'll have Bonnie put a spell on the house just to make _sure_ you don't go anywhere!"

E.J. yelped in pain when she was dropped to the ground, her ankle twisting under her. "You'll be in a helluva lot more pain if you _ever_ think about doing anything so damn stupid again!"

Damon sped out of the room and up the stairs. E.J. could hear his door slam even from where she was. She reached down to rub her ankle and cried, shaking her head.

For nearly ten minutes, she sat there until her ankle began to feel a little bit better. She sniffled and climbed painfully to her feet, testing her weight on her ankle before heading to the door. "Dick," she muttered under her breath, slamming the door on her way out, not caring if Damon heard. "Thinks he can order me around. I'll show him!"

Damon heard the slam up in his room and froze. "Oh, she did _not_!" He sped down the stairs and out the door, but it was too late. E.J. was nowhere to be found. "Dammit!" His fist smashed another crater in his wall, this one on the outside, but he was still livid.

Okay, he had definitely not been "nice" like Elena had asked. Actually, he had been the exact opposite of "nice." This was why Damon should never be in charge of a kid!

He went back inside to search for his cellphone. When he finally remembered that it was still in his pocket, he fished it out and dialed Stefan's number. If his brother was in town, he could keep an eye out for E.J. He would call Elena but he really did _not_ need to hear her saying "I told you so!" right now.

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Kol was in the middle of an Adventure Time marathon, giggling gleefully to himself at the sad moments and rolling his eyes at the funny, when the doorbell went off. "Bekah, doorbell!" he bellowed before remembering his sister had gotten special permission from Elijah to go to the library to study for some test. What a little kid! "Finn, doorbell!" he called instead before remembering that Finn had had a date with Sage that afternoon. "Nik, doorbell!" Oh, wait, Niklaus was still incapacitated from his hangover. "Lijah, doorbell!"

Satisfied, he returned his attention to his program, burying his hand into his bag of chips. Ten seconds later, the doorbell went off again. He jerked his head up, listening for the sounds of his eldest brother's answering it. _Is Elijah even home?_ Kol thought to himself. _Oh, well!_

The doorbell went off for a third time.

"Oh, fine!" Kol climbed to his feet and begrudgingly went to answer it himself. "People nowadays!"

When he finally answered the door, a very familiar person was reaching out to ring the doorbell for the fourth time.

Kol raised an eyebrow. "Why, hello there, love. What can I help you with?"

E.J. glared up at him. "What took you so long? I've been standing out here for like ten minutes ringing your doorbell!"

Kol shrugged. "I was busy. What do you want, exactly?"

E.J. sighed and looked from side to side before peeking up at Kol from underneath her eyelashes. "This might seem a little awkward, but . . . . I need some help."

Kol leaned against the doorframe, looking thoughtful. "With what?" He was usually the last person people would ask for the help of, and he was intrigued.

E.J. suddenly looked nervous. "Um, is Elijah home by any chance? Or better yet Nik?"

"If he is, he's apparently too busy to answer the doorbell," Kol replied smartly. "And Nik's a little preoccupied at the moment. You'll have to make do with me, love."

E.J. frowned. "You hate Damon Salvatore, right?"

Now Kol was interested. "That I do, love. Why do you ask?"

E.J.'s eyes narrowed. "Damon's being a total dick right now and I don't want to stay at the Boarding House anymore. I can't get my stuff back alone or else he'll find a way to keep me there. I was wondering if I could stay here for a while?"

Kol grinned and stepped outside, closing the door and offering E.J. his arm. "My dear, I would be more than happy to assist you in relieving yourself of Damon Salvatore."

E.J. actually smiled and took Kol's arm. "I have to say," she said, "I wasn't really expecting _you_ to help me."

Kol grinned at her. "It's my specialty, love." Before E.J. could say anymore, he had sped them both off.

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When the doorbell went off, Damon sped over to answer it right away. He was just getting ready to release a tirade on E.J. (whom he assumed to be at the door) when he opened it and got the shock of his life.

Kol grinned maliciously at him. "Hello, mate. Can I come in?" Before Damon could inform him that "No, you dick, you cannot!" E.J. appeared from behind Kol and brushed past him into the house.

"Thought I'd bring some backup with me!" she cheerfully called over her shoulder.

Damon was struck dumb by these turn of events. Kol didn't need to be invited in, and E.J. knew that. "What do you want me to do with him, love?" Kol called up the stairs to E.J., who had disappeared into her room.

"Just keep him busy until I can get my things!" she called back.

Leaning against the doorframe, Kol returned his attention to a stunned Damon. "You heard her, mate. I'm to 'keep you busy.' What do you suppose that entails exactly? A little up to interpretation, if you ask me."

Damon glared but if he made one wrong move Kol could be on him in seconds. He was debating between cursing E.J. and trying to kiss up to her. Since when did E.J. have Originals at her disposal, anyway?

A few long minutes went by and Kol yawned. "Boy, females sure are long in their packing," he quipped. "What do you suppose she's doing up there?"

Damon could only glare, clutching onto the door, which he had never let go of. "I wouldn't know," he grumbled back.

"Sorry about that!" E.J. sped down the stairs carrying two suitcases, which she tossed at the door. "I just have my box left, and I don't need to pack that!"

Kol raised an amused eyebrow as she once again disappeared up the stairs. "She asked to come stay with us, you know," he informed Damon. "Apparently you were being a 'dick.' Do you enjoy making people's lives miserable, Salvatore?"

Before Damon could reply, E.J. reappeared with a heavy, dark-wooded box under her arm. "I'm ready!" she cheerfully informed Kol.

"I like her," Kol told Damon. "She's like the darling little sister I never had." He flashed Damon a wicked grin as he stepped past him into the house to pick up E.J.'s suitcases.

"We'll be off now!" Kol sing-songed as he stepped aside to let E.J. out first. "Don't follow us now, mate. It won't end well for you."

Damon could only watch helplessly as E.J. trotted off with Kol. Apparently, they had sped over and were content on walking back. Once they had disappeared from sight, he slammed the door shut and leaned against it in frustration.

"No, no, no, no!" he hissed under his breath. "What have you done, you moron?" He shook his head as he fell to the floor.

That obstinate little girl had been his responsibility, and now it was his own brashness and lapse of control that had put her in harm's away. Damon really couldn't figure out for the unlife of him why the hell he cared so much about that girl, but . . . he did. Something about her attracted his attention. If something happened to her while she was "staying" with the Originals, he very well might stake himself. And he had absolutely no idea why!

Right when he thought he might actually break down, his phone went off and he ripped it out of his pocket.

"_Hello?_" Stefan asked on the other line. "_Damon? I got your message. Have you found E.J. yet?"_

Damon sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah, Stef." Stefan immediately began asking questions, but Damon cut him off, "She came here with Kol, Stefan. She's buddy-buddies with the Originals, now? What are we supposed to do?"

Stefan was quiet on the other line for a few moments before he spoke, "_We get her back, Damon. She doesn't know what she's getting herself into_. _We do everything we have to. We were responsible for her, and now we need to make sure she stays safe."_

Damon laughed humorlessly. "Famous last words, little brother."

**AN: And now the interesting part begins! What's wrong with Klaus, you might ask? You'll have to read on to find out. Has to do with point #2, I can tell you. There was another clue about the "special-ness" of E.J. is in this chapter, point #1, if you can find it. I have to say, I do see that people are guessing well. Unfortunately, I am not an author who will spoil the surprise, and there are a few more chapters left before the first point's answer will be revealed.**

** I'll make a deal with you all. If I receive 5+ reviews, I will update Saturday. If I receive four, Sunday. Three or less, Monday. It's up to you! Keep the guesses coming! I will tell you this: You're all on the right track, but there's a lot more to it (as revealed by the three points in first author's note). Thanks for reading!**


	7. Chapter 7

**To **_**JennyMikaelson**_**: Aw, and I love you for reviewing again! I can't say I was going for "father-like" with Damon. He's a really crappy dad, if I was. *bursts into hysterical, somewhat creepy laughter* Anyway, I love Caroline and E.J., too! I adore Caroline, because she is the most complex character on the show. A lot of the others don't have noticeable flaws, but she does! **_**Sooo**_** much better than book-Caroline, who's a real bitch. You'll have to read on, but I can tell you there's a scene coming up, quite possibly my favorite, with those two.**

**To **_**SimplyFiction**_**: I am replying to all three reviews here, so bear with me! I'm always thrilled to hear (or read, technically) that I've inspired somebody. Character development is really one of my strong points, and I create a lot of OC's. The way I see it, fictional or not, cartoon or not, human or not, a character is only as good as the way an author portrays him (or her. I'm not sexist, that's grammatically correct!). One of my pet peeves is people's putting fictional characters in "boxes" and saying that they're OOC whenever they leave that box. People don't live in boxes, and neither should **_**fictional**_** people! Anyway, that's just a little rant. On to your really long review, I'll be honest: I had to read it through several times. Um, I think I should reiterate this point: E.J. is only fourteen, and I'm not into pedophilia. She will **_**not**_** have a romantic relationship with either of the Salvatore brothers or any of the Originals. By "falling for her" (or whatever it reads) in the summary, I meant in a platonic way. I can tell you this: I love all of your guesses, but you were a lot closer with your first one (chap. 4 review). I'll say more about it in my author's note. Thanks for reviewing, by the way!**

**To **_**kadienewberg**_**: Thanks so much for reviewing! Yes, I assure you, it is all "parent-ish" when it comes to their relationship. I know I had E.J. comment on how attractive Damon is in the first chapter, but—let's be realistic—he is! Thanks for not thinking I'm into pedophilia! Anyway, I love writing the Originals! I'm trying to find that happy medium where they're all in character but still acting like a family, you know? I really didn't think it was realistic how Elijah is supposed to be older than Klaus but never acted like it. Clearly, the writers have never heard of the "older-brother" complex. The older of my two brothers has it, let me tell you. Drama TV shows seem incapable of allowing the characters to be happy, I've noticed. Not so many people died in the books. And, just so you know, Kol is **_**definitely**_** my favorite to write. I've never seen the fourth season, though, so I've had to improvise from what little I know about him from the show and from fanfiction.**

**To **_**Marauders12345**_**: I have to say, I love you for reviewing again! You were number four, or else I would have had to wait until tomorrow to update. Yay! Anyway, I'm sorry to say that E.J. will not be returning to the Boarding House for a while, but I hope you enjoy her time at the mansion almost as much. I am curious though. I don't believe I ever said that E.J. was badly wounded by the man. Were you just assuming that? And, here's a reminder, Gloria is E.J.'s godmother, remember. Parents will normally name a "godparent" at a baby's birth. You see where I'm going with this? And, um, no. Klaus's illness has nothing to do with E.J.'s box. Not really sure where you got that idea, you'll have to let me know. If I made a mistake, I need to know! The illness will be explained in this chapter, so enjoy!**

**AN: Yay, four reviews! I'll make another deal with you all. Five plus reviews and I'll update tomorrow. Four I'll update Tuesday. Three or less I'll update Wednesday. If everybody who reviewed this chapter and one extra person reviews this one, then you're all set! See! Makes perfect sense!**

** I've received several reviews where people mentioned something about E.J. being on the brink of death at one point . . . . I took me a while before I figured out where that came from. I never said the man who attacked E.J. badly injured her (or, I don't think I did, anyway). She couldn't remember it clearly (trauma and all) and didn't really know what had happened. Anyway, I'm done rambling, so enjoy this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: Does anybody even read these? I think you all know what I own and what I don't own at this point. Besides, I read somewhere that these wouldn't help if somebody decided to sue me anyway. **** Carry on!**

Elena's bedroom was lit up by the lights of many candles, the smells of which filled the room. Her window was wide open to let the cool night breeze in. Normally, this room was a sanctuary for the eighteen-year-old girl who had gone through so much in just a few years, but now it was being used as a rendezvous. Caroline was sitting on the edge of Elena's bed, one leg hanging down, and Bonnie was beside her, sitting cross-legged and looking as if she'd rather be anywhere but there. Matt, who had been very surprised when he had received Elena's text asking him to come to her house right away for an emergency meeting, was leaning against the bathroom door with one leg pulled up to his chest. Stefan was seated a few feet away from him, sighing and gazing off into space every few seconds. Jeremy was seated on the window seat with a laptop open before him, searching through pages of results. Damon was pacing the width of Elena's room, too deep in his own thoughts to speak.

Elena was standing next to the bed near Bonnie, leaning her back against the wall. "Thank you all for coming," she said seriously. "I'm sorry I couldn't explain more over the text, but I'm so glad you all could come."

"What is this about, anyway?" Matt asked.

Elena smiled at him. "Stefan and Damon had a new boarder. Her name was E.J. Something happened today and she ended up going off to stay with the Originals."

"What?!" Caroline jerked upright, looking appalled. "She can't! I mean, it's not safe!"

Even Bonnie, who had never cared for vampires, looked worried. "What was she thinking?" she asked.

"She was thinking that Damon is a total dick," Stefan spoke up from the floor, "and that the Originals were a much better option."

Normally, Damon would have defended himself, or at least come up with some witty comment or nasty retort, but he knew that his brother was right. "It was my fault, I know," Damon said quietly. "I _was_ being a total dick, but I was pissed!"

"She's a fourteen-year-old girl, Damon," Stefan sighed. "No matter how pissed you are, you can't throw her around and curse at her. Regardless of whether or not she's a vampire!"

"Wait, this girl's a vampire?" Matt spoke up.

"Yes, now hush," Caroline shushed him.

"We know where the Originals are," Bonnie said. "It's only a matter of getting E.J. out."

Stefan shook his head. "She's not being held prisoner, Bonnie. She _wants_ to be there. We can't kidnap her. We have to make her realize how foolish she's being so she'll come back on her own."

Elena sighed, holding her head in her hands. "This feels so wrong," she said. "E.J. didn't seem like the trusting type. Can't she see how dangerous the Originals are? Doesn't that _bother_ her?"

"Either it doesn't," Stefan replied, "or it does and she doesn't care."

"In this girl's defense," Matt said, "Damon is dangerous, too."

"At least I can die!" Damon retorted, turning on Matt.

"Matt's right, Damon," Elena agreed. Damon swung around to glare at her, but she stubbornly continued, "You could hurt her just as easily as one of them could. Elijah, Finn, and even Klaus have never laid a hand on her, but _you_ have. I can't honestly say I blame her."

Damon pursed his lips, but he really could not argue that point. "It was still incredibly stupid of her," he muttered. "I just hate the fact it was _Kol_ she brought over!" he suddenly snarled. "Kol, for the love of vodka! That guy's a nutcase!"

"Wait!" Matt held up one finger. "This girl 'brought' Kol over?"

Stefan answered, "E.J. brought Kol back to the Boarding House with her so that she could get her things without any fear of Damon trying to stop her from leaving. Or at least, that's our assumption as to why."

"He willingly helped her!" Damon muttered. "Without any hesitation! What _is_ it about that girl that makes Originals fall all over her?!"

Elena sighed and shook her head. "I called you all here because we need a plan."

As one, everyone turned to Caroline, who jerked up and looked startled. "Why me?" she whined.

"Klaus likes you," Bonnie explained. "You're the only one of us with a chance of getting into that house. Find E.J. and talk to her. Maybe get her to see reason. She likes you! She might actually listen to you."

Caroline moaned, "Fine! I hate you all!"

Elena smiled. "We love you, too, Care Bear."

TVDTVDTVDTVDTVD

Night had fallen and E.J. was finally settled into her new room. The Originals' mansion was huge, and Kol had given her an extensive tour after he had brought her back over. She had been a little wary of him at first (he _had_ broken her neck for no reason), but she found herself warming up to him. Unlike Damon, he never laid a hand on her (excluding that time at the school, of course) and never once tried to tell her what to do. Then he had showed her the bedrooms and told her to "Pick one." She had been delighted and spent the next several minutes debating among several different ones. Finally, she had settled on this one because it was the only one with a balcony.

The door was wide open, the opaque curtains fluttering in the breeze, as E.J. busied herself with putting the last of her clothes away in the enormous wardrobe. Apparently, Niklaus had not thought of adding closets when he had had the house built. E.J. didn't mind, however, since the wardrobe was beautiful and she really did not have much clothing.

She set her precious box on the floor of the wardrobe and carefully closed it, satisfied that for now it was safe. She had already stocked the bathroom with her toiletries and now turned her attention to her last suitcase: the one filled with more personal items.

She unpacked books, a few journals, an old art kit that she rarely used but couldn't make herself get rid of, and a small teddy bear nearly as old as she was. It had been given to her by her parents on her third birthday, and she had had it ever since. She reverentially placed the teddy bear before the mound of pillows and emptied the suitcase of the other stuffed animals and dolls that she had. She was sixty-five years old, but she was a fourteen-year-old at heart.

"Knock, knock!" E.J. jumped and glanced toward the door in surprise. Rebekah stood in the doorway, dressed in ice-cream silk shorts and a cleavage-revealing pink tank top, smiling at her. Her blonde hair was pulled up into a messy bun, making her look like the eighteen-year-old girl she was at heart.

E.J. nodded politely. "Hi."

Rebekah took that as an invitation and strode into the room. E.J. noticed that she was barefoot and nearly giggled. Rebekah saw her smile and smiled back, hopping up to sit on E.J.'s enormous king-sized bed. "I know we got off on the wrong foot," Rebekah began, "and I really am sorry for that, but I thought that—I don't know—maybe, we could be friends?" E.J. raised an eyebrow at her. "It's hard being the only girl, and now that you're here, I like it!"

E.J. could understand that. "I guess I can give you a second chance." She grinned and lay on her back. Her short red tank top with the lacy hem and straps barely covered her belly and didn't even touch her red-and-white, heart-covered silk shorts. She had put her hair up long ago, her long hair forming a large bun atop her head.

Rebekah noticed. "I could cut your hair sometime. I personally love it long, but you don't strike me as the kind of girl who likes monkeying with her hair every morning."

E.J. smiled. "I would like that." She glanced at the digital alarm clock on her nightstand. "Ooh, there's a Star Wars marathon on tonight, and I promised Kol I'd watch it with him!" She leapt up and hurried over to her wardrobe to find herself a blanket. She hadn't packed any, but the wardrobe had been pre-stocked with a few. "Apparently, the rest of you do not 'appreciate the awesomeness that is Star Wars.'"

"You like those movies?" Rebekah asked, sounding surprised. E.J. nodded without glancing back at her, too busy hauling out a large pink fleece blanket. Rebekah shrugged as she trotted over to help E.J. She wasn't concerned about how she dressed in front of her brothers, but she understood why E.J. was. "If you're watching it, then I guess I will, too."

E.J. giggled as she finally wrestled the blanket out of the wardrobe with Rebekah's help. "It's a date!"

Kol was already stretched out on the couch, bowl of popcorn on his chest, when they entered. E.J. had tried to wrap the blanket around herself, but it was long enough to trail on the ground, and she had had to give up. "Move over, Kol," Rebekah ordered as she marched over and stood in front of the couch.

Kol blinked up at her before turning back to the TV and ignoring her. Rebekah rolled her eyes and sat down on top of him without a word. Kol said nothing, acting as if she were not even there. E.J. quirked an eyebrow, but she wasn't about to sit on Kol, too. (He wasn't her brother.) She instead trotted over and wrapped the blanket around herself again before sitting in the armchair.

"Thanks," Rebekah taunted as she reached out to steal some popcorn. Kol swatted her hand away. He might have tried to buck her off, but she was sitting across his lap and he'd end up spilling his precious popcorn if he attempted it.

"Go find your own seat," he snapped at her, shifting beneath her and trying to snuggle deeper against the pillow he was leaning against. Rebekah ignored him and settled back against the couch.

"You're watching Star Wars?" Niklaus appeared in the doorway, looking as if he'd just rolled out of bed. He yawned and shuffled over without waiting for an answer. "Why didn't you tell me? I love those movies!" He plopped down next to Rebekah and settled back. "Has it started yet?"

"Okay!" Kol cried. "I'm starting to lose the feeling in my legs, here!"

"You don't have a heartbeat, turd," Rebekah informed him. "Therefore, you do not have a pulse. _Therefore_, loss of blood circulation—which, by the way, you do not have either—would not cause you to lose the feeling in your legs."

Niklaus glanced down and for the first time seemed to notice he was sitting on top of his younger brother. "Kol, sit up," he ordered.

Kol scowled at him. "I would love to. Really, I would. But I've been pinned down, and I can't move."

Niklaus immediately stood and pulled a protesting Rebekah up with him. Kol made a show of painfully pulling his legs to his chest and sitting on the couch properly. Niklaus dropped down once he had and Rebekah followed with a huff.

Niklaus seemed to notice E.J. for the first time. He furrowed his eyebrows and looked between his two younger siblings, who weren't paying him any attention. "Does anyone else realize that there's a little girl in the room with us?"

"I'm staying here," E.J. piped up. Niklaus looked surprised. "Damon was being a total dick. So I came here and Kol came to help me get my stuff."

Niklaus's expression had changed from surprised to disbelieving. "_Kol_ helped you?"

E.J. nodded. "He was quite the gentleman."

"Shh!" Kol shushed her. "I think it's starting."

Niklaus smiled at E.J. "Why are you sitting all the way over there, love? You can barely see the screen. Come sit here with us."

E.J. obliged when Niklaus patted his thighs and stood up to hurry over and join them. She gave up on the blanket and dropped it to the ground, settling herself into Niklaus's lap. "Your siblings are weird," she whispered into his ear.

Niklaus smirked and whispered back, "I know." E.J. giggled and settled back against him to watch the movie.

The night was quiet. The cool air blew through the open door and ruffled the bedskirt of the king-sized bed. The girl in the bed moaned and turned over onto her stomach, burying her face in her pillow. Her covers lay half on, half off her, causing the breeze blowing through to chill her exposed skin as it blew over her.

Inside the beautifully decorated, expertly crafted wardrobe lay a box. It jumped slightly, as if it too had felt the breeze, before it suddenly leapt into the air and crashed through the doors of the wardrobe.

E.J. jerked awake and stared across the room, eyes wide when she saw her precious box lying out in the open. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes, her heart pounding so hard it hurt, as she cautiously hopped down from the bed. She slowly approached the box and knelt down, reaching out a hand to touch it.

A strangled cry came from within the box, and E.J. jerked away in shock. She fell back from it and pressed her back to the bedframe behind her, panting wildly. She stared at the box, which had suddenly gone quiet.

From deep within its depths, a soothing voice drifted, one without words. E.J. approached the box as if in a trance, crawling on her hands and knees, and reached out for it once more. This time, she did not pull away when it vibrated under her grasp and she pulled up on it with all of her strength.

The lid creaked, but stubbornly remained down. _Help me!_ the words seemed to be saying to her. _Discover who you are, before it is too late for us! Help us!_

E.J. shook her head and blinked down at the box before her. "What are you talking about?" She should have been disturbed at her speaking to an inanimate object as if it were a person, but her mind was still half-asleep.

The box lay still for a moment before it leapt into the air and sailed into E.J., knocking her across the room until she cracked her head against the bedframe. _The witch trapped me in here!_ the voice continued. _Only you can undo the spell! You must discover the identity of your parents. When you do, I will help you find out who you are!_

E.J. groaned as she sat up, rubbing her sore head. "My parents are dead," she grumbled. "My dad died of a stroke and my mom died in her sleep. That happened a long time ago."

_Not your adoptive parents, child! Your _biological_ parents! The witch lied to you and trapped me in here to keep your true identity from you. She spelled me in here with a powerful spell. To open me, you must discover the identity of your real parents! The witch did not want you to know what you really are!_

E.J. groaned and curled up in a ball on the floor. "Can you tell me in the morning? I stayed up most the night watching Star Wars. I would have stayed up _all_ night but Nik wouldn't let me."

The box was silent for a moment. _Are you fond of the hybrid, child?_

E.J. didn't know what "hybrid" was supposed to mean, but she was too exhausted to care. "Yeah, I guess so. Why?"

_You are now nearer to your true self than you have ever been before. Your presence in this town has triggered a countdown. The longer you go without discovering yourself, the more the hybrid will forget. You must discover who you are, or he will forget who he is. You and he are intertwined, child!_

E.J. did not reply, for she had fallen asleep on the floor, mumbling to herself. A rustling blew through the room and a figure stood in the doorway, framed by the moonlight streaming through the room. The moon was only half-full, but it well illuminated the night.

"I created evil," the woman spoke, her voice resounding throughout the room. "And the girl is the key to rectifying it. Do not jeopardize this, Mshiagi! You will regret it!" What she meant by her last words, the box did not know, but did not really care.

The box sighed and, if it could have, would have rolled its eyes. _I will be good, _it promised almost sarcastically.

The woman's eyes grew cold and they blazed with power as she slowly approached the sleeping girl. "You should not have spoken," she said quietly to the quivering with anticipation object. She waved a hand and E.J. was suddenly back in her bed, snuggled under her covers.

_It's not my fault you wrecked the world, Pandora! _the box exploded, sounding indignant.

The woman rounded on the box and seethed in a low voice, "You will do well to hold your tongue, Mshiagi! I can take your life as easily as I gave you it!"

The box shuddered with laughter. _You and I both know that is a lie, Pandora. You cannot take my life anymore than the witch could. Why do you think she did _this_ to me?!_ The box leapt into the air and shuddered to make its point.

Pandora sighed and shook her head. "One day you will learn, Mshiagi. For now, try to not speak." She approached E.J. on the bed and waved a hand over her. "She will remember what you said, believing she was dreaming, but she will know that it was important." She sighed, sounding as if the weight of the world were on her shoulders, and reached out a slender hand to run it down the girl's face. "She is the only hope I have for redeeming myself and breaking this curse."

The door creaked open and Pandora was gone, the box safely tucked away in the wardrobe once more. Rebekah stood in the doorway, looking confused. "Now, why did I come in here?" she muttered, slowly approaching E.J.'s bed.

She smiled at the sight of the slightly younger girl and reached out a hand to run it down her face. "Sleep, love. Tomorrow is a brand-new day." At a sound from the wardrobe, she jerked up and stared at it in alarm, but it was silent once more.

She shook her head as she strode back across the porcelain tile, muttering to herself as she pulled the door shut behind her, "I have really got to stop staying up late watching television."

Once she was gone, E.J. sat up robotically and spoke in a hoarse whisper, "I was adopted?"

**AN: YAAAAYYY! We finally reached the chapter that is going to have you all going "WTH"! I can give you a little hint if you're totally confused. The idea is inspired from the books and Greek mythology, respectively. That, and I have a really whacked-out imagination. I hope Klaus's illness makes more sense to you now, Marauders12345! Oh, and so we're clear, I own the characters of Mshiagi (pronounced "mih, shee, AH, gee"). I don't **_**technically**_** own the character of Pandora (for those of you who know anything about Greek mythology), but I own how I used her. Thanks for reading! P.S. Just as before, neither of those characters can be used in any way, shape, or form without my permission.**


	8. Chapter 8

**To **_**JennyMikaelson**_**: I love Greek mythology! I've been busy researching Norse mythology, but I'm not having much luck finding what I want. Oh well, that's why I have an imagination. Rebekah wasn't really supposed to be possessed: it's more like she just suddenly felt the need to check on E.J. but had no idea why. You will be happy to know that next chapter point #1 (Who are E.J.'s parents and why is that significant?) will start to be answered. E.J. and Klaus are connected, but not necessarily in a natural way. Thanks for the review, by the way!**

**To **_**Marauders12345**_**: I have to say your consistent reviews make my day! It actually wasn't until that chapter that I decided what the box was. Luckily for you, I hadn't updated anything yet and could edit the previous chapters! Anyway, I checked out the last chapter and I didn't see anything connecting the box with Klaus's sickness. I didn't actually read it through though, so I don't know. Next chapter the big reveal begins!**

**To **_**madison. **_**: Thanks so much for reviewing! And, yes, I did mean that Pandora! I'm glad to see somebody got that. And I'm glad you're enjoying this story. My whole purpose for writing is to entertain people. That, and I just love it.**

**To **_**kadienewberg**_**: Yes, E.J. was born in the year 1944 (her birthday's in a few months) and is therefore sixty-five. This story is set in 2010 (like I believe the series is), but I've written it like it's set in this year. But don't let that affect your guessing too much. If I can make it work, I will. Hehehehe! You made me laugh, thanks for that! Aren't they, though? Gotta love those Originals! Boo the show for killing off two of them!**

**To **_**crazygurl**_**: And your review made five! So I had to scramble to update today. Thanks for the review and the kind words! I'm glad you love my story. Hearing that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. (That's not too weird, is it?) There should be more stories like that where the Originals aren't dysfunctional to the point of ridiculous and two haven't been killed off for convenience. I swear they created Finn just so that they could kill him off and reveal the whole "bloodline" thing.**

**AN: Yay, yay, yay, yay! Five reviews, and I update today! When I make a promise, I keep it. (Eventually . . .) New deal, now! Don't you just love these? Six plus reviews and I update Tuesday. Five I update Wednesday. And four or less I update Thursday. Next chapter the big reveal begins (E.J.'s parents and whatnot), so be prepared! A couple people have guessed accurately, I can tell you, but they never said why her parentage is significant. Hint: It's never stated or even hinted at: logic is all you need! (For the significance part) It will be stated eventually, just not for a while. Enjoy this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I own what I own and I don't own what I don't own. How's that for a disclaimer? I figure if they're going to sue a "fanfiction" writer, then they have no lives. Moving on!**

The kitchen was grand but cozy considering the size of the rest of the house. The white aluminum cabinets were polished to a shine and the streaked gray marble countertops were smooth to the touch. The stainless steel appliances were brand-new, barely used since Niklaus had had them installed three months ago. The gleaming white porcelain tile with the black grout continued throughout the entire building except for the parlor, family room, and conference room, which had red oak hardwood flooring.

Rebekah, surprisingly, had been the first one up, bouncing into the kitchen at seven in the morning to make herself a cup of coffee. She was dressed in middle-of-thigh-length denim shorts and a thick gray tank top with a scooped neck, lacy pink trim around the neck and hem, and pink hearts painting it all over. She had pulled her blonde hair into a braid falling off her right shoulder, but several strands had already come loose. She was sitting at one of the stools at the island (the countertops overhung on the sides to create a bar area, and the stools were shoved underneath), swinging her legs as she played with her iPhone (her case was gray with pink edging, her two favorite colors), a cup of coffee before her.

Elijah was the second to wake up, only fifteen minutes after his younger sister, and he looked surprised to see her. Since it was the middle of spring (a hot time for Virginia), he was dressed in tan slacks and a neatly pressed red and white collared shirt, his feet covered by nothing but socks edged with gray. "What are you doing up?" he asked, striding over to pour himself a mug of coffee as well. He set about refilling the pot for his brothers as he waited for Rebekah's answer.

"Who says I ever went to bed?" she asked smartly, eyes not leaving her screen. Elijah turned around to stare seriously at her, but she still did not look up.

"I'm not even going to ask," he muttered, taking a seat across and to the right of his sister on the other side of the island.

Finn stumbled in, yawning, at a little before eight o'clock, looking as if he had been through a rainstorm. His hair stuck up on end, and his SpongeBob Squarepants shirt was noticeably wrinkled. Since he never actually went anywhere, he never bothered to put on anything more appropriate—and that didn't smell.

As he was fumbling with the coffeepot (one thing he had grown to love about modern time), Rebekah and Elijah shared a long look, conspiring on how to get their brother to take a shower and change his clothing. After their silent conversation, Rebekah had been elected as the less likely one to arouse Finn's suspicions and she cheerfully called to her older brother, "Morning, Finny!"

Finn turned around to blink at her, holding up his mug and slurping at it noisily. Rebekah grimaced but pressed on, "Didn't you have a date with Sage yesterday?"

Finn took his time swallowing before he turned to her, eyes blank. "She canceled. Said something about my poor hygenics." He yawned and took another slurp from his mug.

Elijah wrinkled his nose. "I believe you mean 'hygiene,' Finn."

Finn shrugged. "That, too." He sighed and sat across from Rebekah, next to Elijah, much to the eldest Original's dismay. "She said that she doesn't want to see me until it improves, anyway."

Rebekah knew an opportunity when she saw one. "I can help you with that!" She leapt to her feet and hurried around to the other side of the island to grab Finn's wrist. "Come to your room with me, and I'll show you how to get back into Sage's good graces!"

Finn's eyes lit up and, like the gullible love-struck puppy that he was, he happily trotted after his little sister.

Niklaus trotted in about half an hour later, his gray sweatpants hung low and his chest bare. He had apparently just showered, for he smelled heavily of Axe and aftershave. He nodded once at Elijah before trotting past him and moving to the coffeepot.

Elijah coughed when his brother passed him. "I can't decide what's worse," he grumbled. "Finn's refusing to bathe or you bathing in that Axe stuff."

Niklaus grinned wickedly at him over the rim of his now filled coffee mug. Unlike his older brother, he did not bother to refill the coffeepot. "The others still asleep?" he asked mildly, sitting down to his brother's right.

Elijah sighed as he stood to refill the coffeepot for the second time. Kol was a bear in the morning without his coffee, and he was not going to deal with him. He didn't know about E.J., but he honestly didn't expect her up anytime soon. "Rebekah was up before I was, and Finn came in a little while ago."

Niklaus laughed shortly. "Has he showered yet?"

Elijah laughed, too. "No, but I think Rebekah might have finally found a way to get him to."

"Did somebody say my name?" Rebekah reappeared in the doorway, followed closely by Finn. He had dressed in loose-fitting jeans and a plain tan shirt, and by the look of his damp hair, Rebekah had been successful in her quest. Elijah was delighted to smell that his eldest younger brother had not had access to that atrocious Axe stuff. Finn smelled more like soap than he did body wash.

"Did either of you think to check if Kol's alive yet?" Niklaus asked, not bothering to answer his sister's rhetorical question. She and Finn had sat down on the other side of the island, a chair between them. (There were three chairs on either side.)

Rebekah shook her head, once more engrossed in her phone, and Finn only shrugged.

When the clock was approaching nine thirty, E.J. finally stumbled into the room, looking half-asleep still dressed in last night's sleepwear. Her bun was now much messier after having been slept in, and her oak-green eyes were glazed with a sleepy film. She fell down in the stool next to Niklaus and buried her face in her elbow. "Kol snores like a freight train!" she grumbled.

Niklaus grinned and hopped down to fetch a mug of coffee for his favorite girl, at the moment. "Here, love." He held the mug out to her, and the smell quickly got her attention.

She sniffed it and wrinkled her nose. "I hate coffee," she grumbled.

Finn, Rebekah, and Elijah all looked at each other in sync, wondering to themselves if now was when Niklaus would finally explode. Niklaus, however, simply laughed and got back up to dump the coffee back into the pot. "I probably should have asked first," he chuckled, returning to his seat. "I just thought you looked like you needed it."

"What I need is sleep," she mumbled, her head once again pillowed on her arm. Niklaus wrapped an arm around her and gave her a squeeze.

Elijah watched E.J. calmly, a mild expression on his face. Inside, though, he was a little wary. He slept in the room next to Kol's, and his brother was a fairly quiet sleeper. In fact, he was surprised the others hadn't said anything about E.J.'s comment. Why would E.J. lie about why she couldn't sleep?

E.J. had lied because she didn't exactly know herself. She had slept, but she had woken up still not feeling rested. Instead of going back to sleep and possibly waking up around noon with a pounding headache, she decided to drag herself out of bed. Her dream from last night was vague, but parts of it stood out.

_You must find out who you are, or he will forget who he is._ The he had been "the hybrid," but E.J. couldn't remember who that was supposed to be.

She did clearly remember that she was adopted. She was supposed to figure out who her biological parents were to open the box that Gloria had given her. Even though she kept telling herself that that was ridiculous, they would have told her something like that, something persistent in the back of her brain would not let her let the idea ago. It just kept harassing her until she was ready to give in and actually give it some serious thought.

"And some Advil might be nice," she added as an afterthought.

E.J. was sitting stretched out on one of the built-in benches of the front porch, her laptop on her lap. She had dressed in short blue athletic shorts trimmed in green and a simple light blue camisole. Her body had not had time to develop more, and, as a result, her chest was still rather flat and her hips were not as round as some other girls' were. Sometimes E.J. cursed the fact that she would have her girlish pixie-shaped face for her entire immortal life.

True to her word, Rebekah had cut nearly six inches off her hair that morning, and it now only reached a little past her shoulders. She had pulled it up into a neat ponytail to get it off her neck.

She was scrolling down her main Facebook page when she sensed the presence of another person. She glanced up in surprise to see Caroline walking up the stone pathway to the front porch. Caroline's short white shorts were blindingly white, her baggy yellow top with a flower design on the front nearly blended with her skin, and her hair had been swept up into a neat bun. She smiled at E.J. as she climbed the steps, her white flip-flops snapping as she did.

"Not coming over to try to convince me to go back to the Boarding House, I hope," E.J. commented as Caroline approached her. She liked Caroline well enough, but she, like the others, would think her insane to want to live with the Originals. E.J. couldn't explain it, but they felt like family to her.

Caroline dropped her white purse onto the ground and planted her hands on her hips, staring down at E.J. "I get it, E.J., really I do," Caroline began. "Damon's a real dick. But you have other options! You could come stay with me or Elena, or find another boarding house! You don't need to resort to _this_!" Caroline waved her hand at the house to make her point.

E.J. shook her head and laughed. "Are you sure you're not just jealous because Nik likes me?"

Caroline's look was priceless, and E.J. wished she had a camera, or at least her phone. "Klaus?" the other girl gasped. "No! Why does _everybody_ think I have a thing for him?!"

E.J. quirked an eyebrow up at her. "Maybe because you do?"

"Oh!" Caroline stamped her foot and glared. "Just stop being silly and come away from here! You can come stay with me, okay? My mom won't care, and we have a guest room."

E.J. sighed and closed her laptop, setting it to the side and swinging her legs around. Her feet were bare, her toenails freshly painted bright yellow and decorated with glue-on nail designs that Rebekah had wanted to try out. "Look, Caroline," E.J. said in a soft voice, hoping to assuage Caroline's temper, "I know you don't get it. But I _like_ it here. Believe it or not, the Originals actually _like_ me, and I like them. Even Kol, and he's more of a dick than Damon!" She shook her head. "Even Rebekah's taken a liking to me. We did each other's nails!" She held up her fingernails, which had been decorated with an orange, white, purple, and red swirl design of Rebekah's own invention.

Caroline slowly bent down to examine E.J.'s nails. "They are pretty," she muttered, jealous that she had never thought of doing something like that.

"They were Rebekah's idea," E.J. replied modestly. "I did hers in ten different flag designs. I don't think she got it, though." She frowned before laughing and shrugging her shoulders. "But it was fun! Even though my nails are a lot better than Rebekah's."

Caroline sighed and dropped down beside E.J. "I like you E.J.," she said quietly. "Which is why I want you to know how sorry I am for doing this." As she spoke the last words, she slowly reached up and put her hand against E.J.'s neck, steeling herself to snap it.

The next few moments were a blur, and Caroline suddenly found herself halfway across the front lawn and sprawled on her back near to where she had parked her car. E.J. was standing above her, staring down at her, not maliciously but with a solemn expression on her face. "Do you really think you can best me, Caroline?" the other girl asked quietly. "I might be younger than you physically, but I am older literally. You've been a vampire for, what, three months? I've been a vampire for fifty-one years."

Caroline sniffled and stood, dismayed to see that her white shorts now had grass stains on the butt. "That wasn't necessary," she mumbled.

E.J. stepped forward and took Caroline's hands in her own, gently rubbing her thumb over the other girl's knuckles. "I like you, too, Caroline," she said gently. "But you and the others need to let me make my own decisions. I could have had all five of the so-called monsters out here with just one call, if it had been Damon or Stefan instead of you. You can't make me leave, and you can't convince me to go. I'll go if I have a reason to leave, like I did with Damon."

Caroline smiled a little smile as she pulled away from E.J. "I know I can't make you," she sighed before holding out her arms. "Hug?"

E.J. smiled and stepped forward into Caroline's embrace. "I was hoping you would understand." She squeaked in pain when she felt Caroline stab something into her shoulder.

"But I can try," Caroline murmured, watching as E.J. reached behind her to yank the syringe out of her shoulder.

E.J. stared at the syringe for a moment before throwing it to the ground. Caroline looked confused for a moment before her expression turned alarmed. The next thing she knew, she had been slammed against her car and E.J. was up in her face, her pupils dilating.

"I have a little message for Damon and the others," E.J. spoke in a low, compelling voice. "Leave me be or they're going to see my nasty side." With that, she sped back up to the porch, scooped up her laptop, and disappeared into the house.

TVDTVDTVDTVDTVD

"I tried!" Caroline sobbed, accepting another tissue from Elena, who was taking them from the box that Bonnie held on her lap. "But she was too strong, and the vervain didn't work!" She blew her nose and took another tissue. "Why didn't it work?!"

This time, the gang had met at the Boarding House, after Caroline had called Elena and had told her what had happened. The first thing that had come out of the blonde's mouth had been her compelled message before she had broken down.

Damon was sitting on the couch, a glass of vodka in his hands. He had yet to touch it, for his mind was too focused on other things. E.J. could compel other vampires and vervain had no effect on her? (He _knew_ that that little brat had compelled him at The Grill!) How was that possible?

"This is a hard case." Stefan sat down beside his brother but Damon didn't even glance at him. "But we'll crack it."

"I should've gone," Damon muttered, pulling away when Stefan tried to put a hand on his shoulder. "Apologized, or something. Do you think that's what she needs?" He finally glanced up to look the older vampire in the eye. (Damon might have been older, but Stefan had completed the transition first, so he had been a vampire for longer.) "An apology? I know girls are weird like that."

Stefan shook his head, laughing, as he clapped his brother on the shoulder. "They are indeed a foreign species, brother." He nodded at Caroline as if to make his point. "But what would the world be without them?" He clinked his glass of apple juice against his brother's and Damon smirked.

"When are you going to man up and drink the real thing?" Damon teased, glad for the lighthearted banter to distract himself. "Instead of juice mixed with a little bit of the good stuff?"

Stefan smirked back. "I don't know what you're talking about."

The two brothers glanced up to see a concerned Elena in front of them. "We need to heed her warning," she said quietly. "We need to leave her alone. She's right. She should be able to make her own choices."

"I've never even met this girl," Matt muttered.

"Me neither, man," Jeremy echoed from his seat beside the fireplace.

Damon sighed and slowly nodded. "For now, we will." His expression became determined. "Until we can figure out a better way."

TVDTVDTVDTVDTVD

E.J. sat on her bed staring at her box for what felt like hours. Her dream had felt so vivid, that, for a crazy moment, she had thought it might have been real. That crazy moment had driven her to do this: sit in front of the box waiting for it to say something. Anything! It seemed the harder she stared, the quieter it became.

She sighed and reached out a hand to jiggle one of the latches but, as always, it didn't budge. Whatever spell was keeping the box locked, it was sealed up tight.

"What are you doing?" E.J. spun around, hand pressed to her heart, to glare at the interrupter of her moment of insanity.

Kol looked bored leaning against her doorframe. His dark hair was messy from sleeping (he hadn't woken up until nearly noon) and his dark eyes still looked rimmed with sleep. His black jeans hugged his frame nicely and his gray sleeveless top left nothing to the imagination. His feet were bare, as usual, and E.J. was pretty sure he hadn't bothered to shave that morning.

"Having a staring contest with my box," she answered automatically. "And I'm winning. Wanna play?"

Kol grinned, clearly appreciating the joke (as she had known he would), and cocked his head to the side. "Funny chizz, love," he purred. "But what are you _really_ doing?"

It was times like these that E.J. realized that Kol was a lot smarter than he made himself out to be. "I'm having an intimate moment with my most prized possession," she snarled. "May I please have some privacy?"

Kol quirked an eyebrow at her, but he knew sarcasm when he heard it and could take the hint. "Just checking up on you," he said, pushing off from the doorframe. "Wanted to make sure you weren't ready to run back to the Salvatores."

E.J. snorted and fondly patted her box. "Not a chance in the world, Kol. Now get lost!" Her menacing snarl, which had worked beautifully on Caroline, only amused the Original, who chuckled and waltzed away.

"Bastard," she grumbled under her breath. In her mind, she had dubbed Damon "Dick" and Kol "Bastard." She didn't feel she could call them the same thing, or else the terms would lose their intended meanings.

"You're not going to talk to me, are you?" she asked her box, beginning to feel a little silly. "You knew it was crazy, E.J.," she told herself as she hopped down from the bed and strode toward her wardrobe. "But you just _had_ to try it."

_You must find out who your parents are, before it's too late for the hybrid! His mind is deteriorating even as you stand here!_

E.J. spun around and stared at the box, but nothing else happened. Finally, she shrugged, unnerved, and returned to digging into her wardrobe.

In another part of the mansion, Niklaus, Finn, and Elijah were in the middle of a rousing game of monopoly. Finn had proved to be quite the entrepreneur, for he had quickly bankrupted Elijah and was now attacking Niklaus with vehemence. Elijah had taken over as banker, taking far longer to count out the money (he checked himself several times to make sure he had the right amount) than his brothers would have.

"Ah, come on!" Niklaus moaned when he rolled a three (a one and a two), the exact number he needed to land on the one thing that Finn owned in the small stretch before his iron. Finn's car was on the clear other side of the board, wallowing in the luxury of owning half of the board. The other half was either owned by Niklaus or under no current management. More often than not, Niklaus had spent his turns doling out cash to his brother rather than actually being able to buy anything.

As he was counting out the money he owed, he blanked out for a few moments before he shook himself and stared down at the fake money in his hands. "What am I doing?" he muttered, carefully laying the money down and turning to stare at Elijah.

Elijah and Finn glanced at each other before turning to Niklaus. Finn was just thankful he was still speaking English. "Are you all right, Niklaus?" Elijah asked quietly, moving himself closer to his brother.

"Yes, brother," Niklaus muttered, sounding faraway and confused, "I think. But it seems that Finn has come back from the dead."

Elijah stared and Finn looked suddenly uncomfortable. "I undaggered Finn, remember?" Elijah spoke in a firm voice, reaching out to lay a hand on his brother's knee. "And Kol and Rebekah, too. And now we're all living together in the house you built for us. Just like you wanted."

Niklaus's head jerked up and he stared at his brother. "What are you speaking of, brother? I never daggered Kol or Rebekah! And when on earth did I build a house for us?"

In one swift move, Elijah broke his brother's neck, turning to Finn with wide eyes. "It's amazing how tempting that is," he muttered, gently reaching down to position his brother's head correctly for healing. "I see why you did it."

"He'll be fine when he wakes up," Finn tried to comfort him, but his voice came out flat. Elijah only nodded as he smoothed his hand over the fuzz that was his brother's hair.

A few minutes later, the break had fully healed and Niklaus gasped, sitting up and reaching up to rub his neck. "What on earth did you do that for, Elijah?" Niklaus demanded heatedly, glaring. "I only asked a simple question!"

It was then that Finn and Elijah could no longer deny that something was very, very wrong with Niklaus.

"Well?" Niklaus snarled, sounding disturbingly like Klaus.

"I have no answer for you, brother," Elijah said before reaching out to break his brother's neck again.

Finn stared at him. "What?" Elijah asked sheepishly. "It keeps him quiet."

Finn rolled his eyes and climbed to his feet. "Let's get him to his room before he wakes up, eh?"

**AN: I'm so excited for the next chapter because—well, you know! We're building up to my favorite part (the climax, I suppose?) and I'm giddy! Which is weird because I've already written a good portion of it. Last chance to guess at E.J.'s parents and the significance! Okay, not the significance, and only E.J.'s mother is revealed next chapter. I'm assuming that most of you have guessed correctly by now, so you'll have to see if you were right. Thanks for reading!**


	9. Chapter 9

**To **_**JennyMikaelson**_**: I love the fact that your review is always my first. **** You'll just have to read this chapter and find out! A girlfriend . . . ? I honestly hadn't thought about giving Kol a girlfriend. By the way, I checked out your profile (I know, I'm such a stalker) and I noticed the pairings you like. How would you feel about a love triangle among Rebekah/Stefan/Elena. I like the idea of one, I just didn't want to pit family against each other like the books and series insist on doing (sigh). I was planning on having Damon and Bonnie eventually have something going on, but I'm open to other ideas. I personally love Damon/Rose, but Rose is dead by now. (Why must the writers torture poor Damon?) I don't know, who would you rather see him with? Oh, and, thanks so much for reviewing again!**

**To **_**kadienewberg**_**: Oh my gosh, you, my dear, are adorable! Yes, Caroline getting "beat up" is kinda funny. Only when it's not some creep, though, right? Now, I asked the characters if they wanted to talk with you, but . . . for some reason they didn't want to, so, you'll have to settle for me! Finn not bathing . . . . Yeah, it's gross, but I was being realistic. The modern world must be giving that poor Original a serious migraine. I love Rebekah, too! I love writing scenes with her and her brothers, but I have to be careful not to sacrifice her character. Honestly, I'd never even considered Kol/Bonnie (that is what "Kennett" is, right? I feel dumb now), and that idea does interest me. Bonnie evil? Personally, I think she does have an "evil" streak to her, but that's just me. Lastly, I assure you, my dear, that Klaus is not the villain in this story. I don't like pitting him against his family but that doesn't mean it's all sunshine and roses for them either. E.J. does want to know why it would be her fault if that happened, but she's overly sensitive so just ignore her. ;) Thanks for reviewing again!**

**To **_**Marauders12345**_**: Yes, I know. I haven't given a lot of clues to E.J.'s father, but I haven't had a lot of chance and . . . I just didn't think about it. Yes, the dates don't add up, I agree. But I'm an author with a seriously strange thought process, and I can assure you that that was either intentional or everybody reviewing is wrong about who E.J.'s mother is (smiles evilly). I loved the scene with Caroline, too, because it was so cute! I think it reminded everybody that E.J. is older than all three of those girls, but she's still a fourteen-year-old at heart. Thanks for reviewing again!**

**To **_**crazygurl**_**: And I loved writing that family moment, because there will never be enough of them, ever. I thought it would be funny if Klaus, the evil mastermind, was losing to his brother who's lost nine hundred years of his life. I hope you like what I came up with for the reveal! And I am happy to oblige your request for more, and humbly thank you for telling me what you thought of the last chapter. (Wow, that was formal. Thanks! There, that's more like it.)**

**To **_**madison. **_**: And thank you for your review, too! There, I said it first this time. Yay me! I guess you'll have to read this chapter to find who she is to Klaus . . . . Wait, I said too much! Edit, edit, edit! Oh, never mind, you've all figured it out by now anyway. I hope you like the reveal!**

**To **_**Typs**_**: I know, right?! There are barely any fics out there where our lovely Originals are all alive and living together relatively happily. This story is nowhere near done, and I am an author who finishes what she starts. I promise to finish this! There might even be a few stories after this one. (Not that I'm planning on turning this into a series or anything . . .) Okay, yeah, I am, but don't tell anybody! I have way too many ideas for just one little thirty-forty chapter something story, but with college coming up in two weeks . . . . I just hope I can continue this for a while, because I love this story! Anyway, thanks for your review!**

**AN: Yay, six reviews! I love you all, really! I haven't said this, but thank you to everybody who's favorited, followed, or just plain read this story! I appreciate every single one of you. New deal, now! Six or more reviews and I will update Wednesday. Four or five I will update Thursday. Three or less and I will update Friday. I guess I'd better keep typing so I can stay ahead of you all. Onto Chapter 14 for me and Chapter 9 (this chapter) for you all!**

**I guess I can tell you all this since I already told a reviewer it. This story is actually an introductory story to a series I'm hoping to write after this is done. There is so much to this little world I've created and so much to E.J., that I cannot fit it all into one fic without making it ridiculously long. This story's purpose is to introduce you to E.J. and everything about her. One thing I'm **_**not**_** going to do is make the story revolve around her like the books and series revolve around Elena. Ugh! She's one girl, why the heck is she so special?! The books are even worse, let me tell you. Anyway, enjoy this chapter and my reveal! I wonder how many guessed correctly?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize and do own everything you don't. Why do I bother writing one of these every chapter, anyway? Oh, right, because I'm paranoid. Never mind, case closed!**

The Other Side was a lonely place. Being able to walk the entire globe and yet unable to speak to one person. When she had been alive, Gloria had relished the quiet moments in her life, but now in death her entire existence was silence. The only bright moments were her brief conversations with E.J., the girl she had come to love as the daughter she had lost.

Tears welled in the dead witch's eyes as she thought of her first daughter, the one who had been killed in a tragic boating accident a very long time ago, long before she had met Rebekah and Klaus. The girl had only been nine years old, five years younger than E.J. Gloria knew that nothing she could have done would have changed what had happened, since she had no yet begun her training at that time, but it did not stop her from asking, "What if?"

Now, she was exploring the mansion that E.J. had moved to. It was beautiful, a true palace. The elegance and grandeur of it made Gloria think that it was a little overkill for a small town like Mystic Falls. She could not figure out if it was some kind of hotel, a boarding house, or the home of a family that E.J. had decided to stay with. She could not blame E.J. for leaving the Salvatores, for she had been able to see Damon Salvatore's behavior. If she had not been dead and incapable of any form of assistance, she would have driven a stake through that vampire's heart a long time ago.

But she knew she could not do that. E.J. would never forgive her if she ever found out the truth . . . a truth that Gloria had hidden from her until her death had taken the veil from her eyes. Her own death had never been on her mind back when she had cast the spell that gave E.J. her box, but now it was all too clear. She could no longer protect E.J.

The box must be opened. But the only way that could be done was if E.J. discovered the identity of her biological parents. That information Gloria had hidden from her for so long that she had actually convinced herself the human couple who had raised E.J. _were_ her biological parents. The woman had given birth to E.J., which had made it that much harder.

"My daughter is special." Gloria turned at the voice and smiled sadly at the woman standing behind her. In death, she was once again a young woman, although she had been very old in her last days on the side of the Living, but her eyes were old. Her long dark hair fell well past her shoulders, curling ever so slightly, and her dark eyes were downcast.

"_Mi hija es especial _("My daughter is special.")," the Latina woman spoke again in a quiet voice. "And I never realized," she said in English. She glanced up at Gloria, her beautiful face marred by time and the reality of life, and death. "But you did."

Gloria's head hung down low. "_Lo siento, _Rosalinda_._" ("I am sorry, Rosalinda.") The other woman's face became hard and Gloria sighed, her eyes downcast. "I did, Rosalinda," she said quietly. "It was my burden to carry."

"You could have told me," Rosalinda said heatedly. At that moment, Gloria wished that ghosts on the Other Side could not interact with each other. Those residing here had some regrets about their life on earth, often involving their loved ones. They lived their relatively lonely lives lamenting their past choices and the fact that they could never be rectified. They were never at peace.

"Greg was able to find peace," Gloria defended herself. "Why haven't you?"

Rosalinda glared, her hatred of the witch fueling her very existence, or lack thereof. "I could ask you the same question, witch."

"E.J. is special," Gloria agreed, deciding that she really did not want to argue with the girl's adoptive mother at the moment. And her birth mother, technically. "In more ways than even I understand."

"Who is her real mother?" Rosalinda hissed, her voice hoarse and so quiet Gloria could hardly hear her.

Gloria's face softened and she hurried over to the other woman. Rosalinda was taller than she, but Gloria reached up to pull the younger woman down into a tight embrace. "_You_ are her real mother, Rosalinda," Gloria assured her. "You are not just the woman who carried her around for nine months and then gave birth to her. You gave her a home, your heart, the life she needed. She would not have gotten that with her 'biological' mother."

Rosalinda's eyes were wet when she pulled away. "Tell me who she is, Gloria." The anger was gone and all that was left was regret. "I need to know."

For a long time, Gloria was silent, contemplating whether or not to reveal the secret she had been hiding for so long.

She never got the chance to make her choice.

She gasped when she felt a powerful tug from the side of the Living and she was yanked away from Rosalinda, who was crying silently.

She opened her eyes to find herself in a world where she only existed as an apparition. She stood in an ornate bedroom she immediately identified as belonging to the mansion she had been exploring on the Other Side. In front of her stood E.J. Her face was red and her eyes looked wetter than normal. She was tugging on her ponytail, like she did when she was nervous, her nose scrunched up.

Gloria smiled nervously. She had gone from an angry, emotional mother to her angry, emotional daughter. Her lot in life was not a pleasant one. "Yes, dear?" she asked quietly.

E.J. had yet to look at her, her gaze off somewhere. "The box talks," she finally said, sounding resolute. Gloria stared at her for a moment before she remembered _the _box.

"Oh." Gloria cleared her throat. "Er, how so?" That should be a good thing, but she couldn't keep her heart from pounding. _You're dead now, Gloria_, Gloria told herself in irritation. _There's nothing He can do to you._ If only she could convince herself as easily she could other people.

E.J. sat down on her king-sized bed, her golden silk bedspread crinkling underneath her. "It actually talked!" she moaned. "Not like a person, but like a voice in my head!"

"Like thought speech?" Gloria asked curiously. Interesting. She had not counted on that.

E.J. shook her head miserably, burying her face in her hands. "I'm losing my mind!"

Gloria sat beside E.J. on the bed and wrapped an arm around her. The girl did not even stir, for she could not feel the ghost's arm. "There, there, love," she soothed. "Everything will be all right."

"No, it won't!" E.J. exploded, leaping up and whirling on her godmother. "Why the hell did you never think to mention I was adopted?!" Gloria's breath caught in her throat at the girl's words. She had known the day would come when E.J. would find out, but she had never quite been able to prepare herself for it. The girl looked so devastated, and so close to tears, that she found herself at a loss for words.

"E.J., do you have any—?" a voice from the doorway interrupted their exchange, but paused, probably when the speaker saw how upset E.J. was. Gloria gazed at Rebekah in the doorway, thinking to herself about how revealing that tank top of hers was. She herself had worn some low shirts, but she found it easier to fault others over herself.

Rebekah's expression was unreadable, but Gloria thought it might be an odd mixture of alarm, confusion, and an innate need to comfort. The Original had never been able to fulfill her motherly need to nurture, although Gloria had tried to help her in that area. Then Rebekah had disappeared and there was nothing she could do.

_I cannot tell E.J. outright_, the ghost told herself. _The spell does not work that way._ She shuddered at the thought of what would be released when said spell was broken. _But I can give her hints_.

E.J. could not meet Rebekah's concerned gaze, sniffling and pressing her lips together to keep from sobbing. Her eyes were so misty that she could no longer see clearly and she was beginning to get a headache. "Just go away, Bekah," she hiccupped.

Rebekah was not what you would call a sensitive person, but something about this girl made her heart melt. Without saying a word, she strode barefoot across the room and engulfed E.J. in her arms. The girl's barrier broke then and she sobbed, burrowing into Rebekah and clinging to her quickly becoming wetter shirtfront.

Rebekah pulled E.J. to the bed and sat down beside Gloria (although she did not know that) and pulled E.J. down onto her lap. "Shh, love," the Original murmured into the girl's hair. "What is wrong? Tell me."

E.J. shook her head against the other girl's bosom and reached up to rub her eyes. She felt like a little girl being in Rebekah's arms, like back when she had been younger. She could remember times of her mother's drawing her into her arms and holding her to chase away a young girl's irrational night terrors.

_Was she ever really my mother?_ the girl thought to herself, the thought breaking her heart.

Gloria sensed the presence of another being from the Other Side and glanced up. Rosalinda looked resplendent in her long red ball gown, her hair pulled into a fantastic bun. Her eyes were transfixed on her daughter and the woman holding her. "I understand," she murmured.

Gloria stood to embrace the other woman, but Rosalinda waved her away. "She is no longer mine, Gloria," the woman spoke in a low voice. "For a time, she was my everything, but now I must give her up." A sad smile crossed her face and, for a moment, her rigid exterior dropped.

If Rebekah had not been so focused on comforting E.J., she might have sensed the presence of two beings from the Other Side. A coldness had settled over the room, and E.J. shivered. For some reason, her tears had dried up and she sat up, staring off into space. Gloria had disappeared, to who-knows-where, but she had sensed something else.

Rosalinda stepped past Gloria and approached her daughter, falling down to one knee and reaching out to cup her hands around the girl's face. E.J. started, looking around wildly, but still could not see her mother. "_Te paso, mi amor _("I pass you on, my love.")," she spoke quietly. "¡_Ojalá vivas una vida larga y feliz_!" ("May you live a long and happy life.") She stood and smiled down at the girl that she had given everything for. "_Te amo, mi querida_." ("I love you, my darling.") She bent down and left a single kiss on her daughter's forehead.

Gloria shed a single tear when the woman faded, off to a better place. "You found your peace, Rosalinda," Gloria sighed before turning back to E.J. The girl was now sitting erect, Rebekah looking at her almost warily. "And now I must, too."

"Your mother has passed you on, child," Gloria murmured into E.J.'s ear. "To another mother."

E.J. heard the words rustle over her ears, but she did not quite understand them. She shook her head and shifted on Rebekah's lap, her mind elsewhere. "Are you okay now, E.J.?" At that voice, that familiar voice, E.J. slowly looked up and into Rebekah's searching gaze.

_To another mother_, the voice had said. "It's you," E.J. breathed.

Rebekah looked confused. "What's me?"

Now E.J. was tearing up once more as she stood and looked down on Rebekah, deep into her eyes. "I don't know how—it shouldn't be possible!—but, you are my mother."

The look on Rebekah's face was so unreadable that E.J. was afraid she had crossed a boundary. The Original opened her mouth to garble out a reply when a _thump_ from the wardrobe startled them. They turned as one to see the box fall out on its own accord, one latch hanging loose.

Rebekah's lips tightened. "I think you have a lot of explaining to do, young lady."

There had been times in his long life that Elijah had thought he might actually be able to simply be friends with his younger siblings, instead of feeling like their caregiver. With Rebekah and Kol, he simply could not brush aside his natural paternal instincts, for he had been an adolescent at Kol's birth and a young adult at Rebekah's. He had trouble seeing them as anything but his little brother and sister who desperately needed guidance. In the five hundred years that he had been loyal to and stayed with Niklaus, Elijah had easily been able to forget that he was Niklaus's senior. Niklaus was always so controlling, and so dangerous, that it was easy to be the follower.

But there had been a time where that had not been true. When they were human, Elijah had always felt the ever present burden of responsibility to his younger siblings. It might not have been paternal as with his youngest siblings, but it had been a natural instinct to teach and to lead. Recently, he had felt those instincts coming back, and they both confused and annoyed him. He might have agreed to grant Niklaus's desire that they all live together as they once had, but that did not mean that he had forgiven the hybrid for all he had done. Honestly, Elijah was just waiting for Niklaus to make one wrong move, giving him an excuse to leave.

Then there was his last sibling: Finn. He had forgotten how much he loved having his eldest sibling around. Unlike with his other siblings, he saw Finn as his equal, for he was only a little more than three years younger. They had grown up as the eldest, fulfilling their responsibilities as such together. Elijah had never particularly felt a need to lead the quietest Original as he had the others. He was beginning to appreciate what a blessing it was to have his level-headed sibling back, alive and well.

Especially today. Elijah was not prone to panic attacks, impulsion, or general acts that belied his composed nature, but he was dangerously close to all three watching Niklaus sleep. He and Finn had only just gotten the hybrid back up to his room, in a hurry to reach it before he awoke after Elijah had broken his neck—again.

Niklaus suddenly gasped awake and Elijah very nearly jumped in surprise. His younger brother sat up slowly, shaking his head in confusion before he spotted Elijah seated beside his bed in the armchair. "Did you break my neck again?" he asked accusingly.

Elijah chose to ignore him and stood up from the armchair. "Finn, have you found anything yet?" he called. The eldest Originals' first guess had been a far-fetched one at best: drugs. Finn had volunteered to search their younger brother's bathroom for any signs of anything suspicious.

"No!" his brother answered. "But Niklaus does seem to use a lot of hair products. Strange, since he does not have much hair."

Niklaus glared at Elijah and mind-glared at Finn, cautiously reaching up to feel his head, surprised that it was balder than he remembered. "Where am I?" he demanded.

"I already told you," Elijah answered patiently. "You are in the house that you built for us all to live together in, as we once did. This is your bedroom, to be exact."

Niklaus looked ready to state his opinion on that statement, when he suddenly froze and shook his head. "My brain feels fuzzy," he muttered before his eyes keeled into the back of his head and he fell back against his bed.

There came a knock at the door, and Rebekah poked her head in. "We have a family emergency," she said, sounding as if she were choking back sobs.

Elijah slowly looked from his unconscious (again) brother to his distraught little sister. "Family emergency?" he muttered. When was the last time he had heard that phrase?

Before Rebekah could clarify, Finn poked his head out the bathroom door. "I'm coming up empty, Lijah," he relayed. "If Nik's doing drugs, he's found a much better hiding place than"—he noticed Rebekah—"Oh, hey, Bekah!" he chuckled nervously, reaching up to tug at his collar.

Rebekah barely glanced at him before stepping into the room and hurrying over to Elijah. The eldest Original hadn't seen her this upset since her first boyfriend had dumped her over a thousand years ago . . . . That boy had mysteriously been pushed into the village compost pile the very next day.

"Eli," she said, her voice barely audible, "I don't know what to do." Elijah quirked an eyebrow at Finn, sharing the burden of their sister's mood swings, before he suddenly found himself nearly bowled over.

"Hey, hey," he murmured, just keeping himself from hollering. His sister was clinging to him, her face buried in his chest. "What's wrong, love?" he asked quietly.

Rebekah shuddered and shook her head against him. "Bekah, what's wrong?" Niklaus's voice came as a shock as he suddenly appeared behind them, looking concerned about his younger sister. (Hadn't he been unconscious mere minutes ago?) Elijah glared at him, but Niklaus paid him no mind and reached out a hand for Rebekah. "Bekky, sweetie, tell me what's wrong."

Rebekah lifted her face from Elijah's chest but she did not let go of him. "I'm scared," she whispered to her third eldest brother, laying her head against Elijah's sternum.

Niklaus's face remained neutral, but he looked as ready to defend his sister as Elijah was. Finn probably felt the same way, but it was hard to tell with him.

Rebekah sighed and closed her eyes. "E.J. thinks I'm her mother," was all she said.

A rustle of the curtains was enough to break the deafening silence that followed.

E.J. could only stare at the box placed on her bed, wondering if she should have kept her mouth shut. Rebekah had acted so shocked, and terrified, if E.J. was honest with herself, about the news that E.J. was torn between indignation and betrayal. "Gloria!" she called out for the third time, desperately hoping that the witch would heed her call.

The girl desperately needed someone to talk to. Rebekah had abandoned her, under the guise of needing to speak with her brothers, and had been gone for over fifteen minutes. E.J. knew better. Clearly, the Original had needed an excuse to get away, away from E.J.

"I was so sure," she mumbled, staring at the box with watery eyes. Her vision was blurry with unshed tears, her nose stuffed up, which made her voice sound funny. "I dought for sure it was 'er," she sobbed quietly.

Gloria stood a few feet away, watching. She was watching both her goddaughter and that damn box. The box that she had created and now had to deal with. One latch was already hanging loose, and Gloria could feel the power within straining against the other. "It will not be long," the ghost murmured. "Soon you will have the greatest protection known to mankind."

_I can sense you, witch_. The voice came so suddenly and so unexpectedly into Gloria's mind that she jumped and swung around in alarm. It was several moments before she realized where the voice had come from. _Even while I am trapped in here, you cannot hide from me_, the voice continued._ I will find you, witch._

Gloria shook her head, trembling at the words. She kept telling herself that she was dead and that he couldn't hurt her, but the words sounded hollow even to her own ears. She remembered the stories that her grandmother had used to tell her about _Him_ and about His powers over the dead.

"Gloria!" E.J. was nearly in tears now, hugging the box to her chest. Why was her friend not coming? Had she done something wrong? Had something happened to Gloria?

A sound at the door startled her and she swung around to see a very composed, very emotionless Elijah standing in the doorway. He did not say much, but was watching her closely. "What do you have there?" he asked in a gentle, calm voice.

E.J. sniffled and glanced down at her box, hurriedly trying to wipe her tears away. "Just something a friend gave to me," she mumbled. "It's really special to me, so don't touch it!" She didn't know where the sudden burst of anger had come from, but she was suddenly curled around the box, hugging it to herself and wrapping her knees around it.

In a moment, Elijah was by her bedside and calmly tugging the box from the young girl's grasp. E.J. shrieked, but she was soon hauled up and crushed to a solid chest covered with a silk waistcoat. "Hush, child," Elijah murmured into her ear. "Your treasure is safe. We will not lay a hand on it."

E.J. pulled away, and he let her, watching her closely. E.J. stood for a moment, rubbing her arms, before she peered up at him. "Did she tell you?" she asked, voice small and uncertain. Elijah nodded his head solemnly. "Do you believe me?"

"I honestly do not know what to believe, E.J.," Elijah said after a moment. "I came up here to get you. We're having a 'family meeting,' and I thought that you should join." A moment went by and Elijah gently pushed E.J. away from him, holding her at his arms' length and scrutinizing her form. "Rebekah is just shocked, love," he said after another long moment. "She will come around."

E.J. sighed and shook her head, shrugging. "I shouldn't 've said anything, anyway, I guess. Should have come up with some evidence first, at least."

Without a word, Elijah briskly led her out of the room and downstairs to her doom. Gloria watched her walk out, eying the box on the bed warily.

She shrugged and turned, heart pounding as she tried to pass back to her normal plane of existence.

_BOO_! She yelped and raced away into the night, wanting to get as far away from the box as possible. Laughter like that of the tinkling of a bell and the softness of a summer breeze rang throughout the room as the box cracked up into hysterical giggles.

**AN: So, what did you all think? Huh? Huh?! HUH? I know the dates don't add up (for everybody paying attention to that kind of thing), but you'll figure out why in a couple of chapters. Poor Rebekah. An eighteen-year-old girl finding out that she has a daughter she never knew about . . . . I knew I couldn't make her finding out all sappy and happy, because that wouldn't be true to the characters or situation. Anyway, E.J.'s father will be revealed in two chapters, so you can start guessing about that!**

** The first person to guess that E.J. was the daughter of one of the main characters was friendlyanon. The first person to guess she was Rebekah's daughter was . . . JennyMikaelson! She didn't say "daughter" outright, just that she was related to her. Congratulations, Jenny! There is still more to the first point (E.J.'s father and the significance of her parentage), so keep guessing! Thanks for reading, everybody!**


	10. Chapter 10

**To **_**JennyMikaelson**_**: Before I say anything else, thanks for reviewing yet again. I adore my constant reviewers. On to other things. Rebekah is a character on the show it does seem just keeps getting hammered and hammered. Personally, I think she needs both a decent guy and her family to start caring for her again. The poor thing had been running from her own father with a domineering brother before she was daggered and stuck in a coffin for ninety years. When she was finally awakened, it was only for Niklaus's convenience. I adore Rebekah and her character, and I especially love exploring the different aspects of her personality. The love triangle will take some time to develop, but I will most likely do it. I agree with you about Elena. In the books, I loved her in the first books because she was flawed. And then she got more and more perfect and she just got annoying. Elena in the series is not very interesting, and I'm hoping to add some depth to her in this story. Nina Dobrev is brilliant, but she's limited by the script and can only do so much. As to E.J.'s father, you'll just have to wait until next chapter.**

**To **_**madison**_**: Thank you for once more sharing your thoughts with me! Honey, if you are ever confused about anything, just let me know what about. You can tell me in a review or PM me, and I'll try my best to clarify. Never feel shy or embarrassed if you missed something or just didn't get something. And, yes, I thought that was funny too. The more I write Finn, the more I fall in love with him.**

**To **_**kadienewberg**_**: I have to say that I'm glad you and another reviewer pointed out about it being strange Rebekah not knowing she had a kid. My plot dealt with it just fine, but for whatever reason I hadn't thought to address it . . . . I really have no explanation as to why. I took a little longer updating today because I added some paragraphs and did some editing, which I don't normally do just before posting. So thanks for helping this fallible author out! She really appreciates it.**

**To **_**Typs**_**: Aw, thank you! Believe it or not, the best way to get better at writing is to—wait for it—write! I know, astonishing, right? I love hearing that my readers think I write well and have interesting ideas. I hope to become a published author someday, and fanfiction is more the stuff I write for the pure enjoyment. And I love the awesome feedback I get! As to Rebekah . . . I put myself in her shoes—I'm also an eighteen-year-old girl—and I said, "How would I feel if I found out I had a kid I didn't know about?" Edit it to her personality and, voila! I'm already planning the series out in my head. Why, because my brain works like that. Thanks again!**

**To **_**Marauders12345**_**: Yes, what does that witch have to do with everything, I wonder? Oh wait, I know that already. The "family meeting" won't go down quite as you anticipate, I'm sure, considering the two emotional females in question here. I'm embarrassed to say that Rebekah being female and therefore it being very odd she didn't know she had a kid . . . kinda slipped my attention. So I worked hard to get this chapter up to speed for you all. Thanks again!**

**To **_**crazygurl**_**: It does seem that stories like this take the sappy, sappy, sappy turn. I didn't want to do that because—well, she's Rebekah. I don't think the word "sappy" is in her vocabulary. The hair products . . . I just couldn't resist. I'm afraid you'll have to wait until next chapter for more answers, because this chapter is full of emotion and some serious supernatural forces being at work. Thanks for telling me your thoughts again! I love hearing them.**

**AN: And here I thought I could wait until tomorrow to update . . . . I love when I get the number of reviews at the last minute and have to scramble to update. I was in town shopping most of this morning, so this took a little longer to get up. I also had to do some major editing. I needed to address the fact that Rebekah's a girl and didn't know she had a kid. Thank the lovely reviewers who pointed that out. Just a heads up: E.J. is going to be bratty and mean in the first part of this chapter. Before people review and tell me how horrible she is, think about what this poor girl has been through. Lots of emotion in this chapter. I hope you all don't mind!**

**Six reviews again, yay! I think I'll repeat the last deal. Six plus reviews and I'll update Thursday. Four or five and I'll update Friday. Three or less I'll update Saturday. Bear in mind that even if I get that number of reviews I need to get them in time to update the promised day. Just a heads up in case that happens. Enjoy this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any Originals, Salvatores, or Gilberts portrayed in this story. Nor do I own Alaric, Gloria, or **_**Seinfeld**_**. I own this plot, E.J., and the mysterious box.**

To think that a few hours ago she and Rebekah had been having a silly conversation about the unrealistic representation of magazine models. Now E.J. was preparing herself to face a girl she now thought might be her biological mother, and it frightened her. Rebekah was only eighteen. How in the world would she handle this in the future? (After all, if she wasn't handling it all that well in the present, what was to make E.J. think anything would change?)

"This must be hard for you." Elijah's voice broke through the young girl's thoughts and she started. She glared up at him through misty eyes and the eldest Original frowned. It was not a disapproving frown, but a worried one.

When Elijah had told E.J. that he did not know _what_ to believe, he had not been exaggerating. This whole situation made no sense in the least. Perhaps if it were one of his brothers in question as a possible parent, he could deal with that possibility, but his sister? What he could not understand is how on earth Rebekah could have a daughter she did not know about. Something strange was going on here, and Elijah was getting suspicious.

Clearly, that thought had not crossed Rebekah's mind. Although nearly as old as her brothers (really, in light of a full millennium, what was a decade or so?), Rebekah had a naivety and innocence about her that belied her true age. Not that Rebekah was an innocent, but that many things about womanhood evaded her. His little sister had never had a child (that Elijah was aware of, evidently), and was new to this whole mothering thing. She knew about how babies came into the world of course, but clearly it had not occurred to her how _E.J._ had come into the world. Elijah wasn't even sure E.J. had thought about that reality, which made sense if he thought about it. The girl was only fourteen and she probably was not apt to think about her own entrance into this world if she did not have to.

"Why the hell do you care?" E.J. suddenly snarled, interrupting Elijah's thoughts, shoving away from him, and stomping the rest of the way to the parlor on her own. She didn't care what these—these—things thought of her! So Rebekah didn't want to be her mother?! Fine! To hell with it all! She didn't need her! She didn't need any of them!

"I shouldn't have to explain myself!" she exploded as she burst into the parlor. They were all there. Every last one of them. Niklaus was hanging his head and not looking at anyone. Finn sat up straight at her entrance and shot her a worried look, further infuriating her. Kol was lounging on the couch with his feet on the coffee table. And Rebekah . . . Rebekah looked as if she had been through hell. Her hair was mussed up and her eyes were red and shiny.

E.J. realized with a start that she must look a sight herself and stamped her foot in frustration. "To hell with you all!" She tried to speed out of the room, but her way was blocked by a waistcoat-clothed chest and strong arms.

"Calm down," Elijah spoke softly into her ear, holding her against her will. She thrashed in his hold and tried to kick him between the legs several times, but it was as if he were made of steel. "Rebekah is upset as well," he continued, still speaking softly. The others could still hear him, though, E.J. knew. "Give her some time."

"I don't have to give that bitch anything!" she screamed at him, kicking him in the shin. She was barefoot and all that kick accomplished was bending one of her toes backwards. She swore and angrily shook her foot.

Rebekah was suddenly there and in her face. "GIVE ME ONE DAMN GOOD REASON I SHOULD BELIEVE YOU, AND I WILL GLADLY DO SO!" The outburst shocked everybody present, given that the only female Original had been a mess only seconds earlier.

Rebekah pulled herself up to her full height and calmly reached up a hand to smooth down her hair. Her glare sent a chill through E.J., who had just remembered what the "bitch" was. An ultra-powerful Original who could kill her without much effort.

"She's telling the truth, Rebekah." The soft voice penetrated the tension and Rebekah jerked her head up in shock. At first, she could see nothing as she stared, but she could soon make out the faint outline of a woman. The shape stepped forward and held itself erect as it looked at them all.

E.J. sniffled and shook her head miserably. "They don't believe me, Gloria! How am I supposed to make them believe me?!" Clearly, the girl had not yet realized that the ghost was visible to the Originals as well, although barely.

Gloria looked pained as she sucked in a breath. "I cannot stay long," she wheezed. "She is only allowing me a short amount of time to deliver this message." She blinked her eyes rapidly and shook her head as if she had a headache before biting down hard on her wispy lip.

Finally, the apparition raised its head and looked Rebekah square in the eye. "1922. You told me about how you could never have children, and I offered to help you." The ghost suddenly hacked and fell to her knees, groaning. "E.J. is your daughter, Rebekah, I swear on my very existence!"

As suddenly as the apparition had appeared, it was gone, and the entire room was silent. Seconds ticked by as the Originals could only stare at the spot where the ghost had once been.

Rebekah slowly turned to E.J., her eyes once more shiny but her expression still grim. The two young women faced each other for a moment before E.J. had to look away, the look of the elder too intense for her to meet.

To say the least, the memories of 1922 were foggy for Rebekah. She did vaguely remember having a conversation with Gloria about how she wanted children, but this? Could it be possible?

"Vampires can't have children," Rebekah hiccupped. "It's not possible!" Hot tears were now spilling down her cheeks and she sped from the room.

Before any of the remaining Originals could stop her, E.J. was gone as well, but, unlike Rebekah, who had simply gone outside for some fresh air, she slammed the door on her way out.

Kol leapt up to go after her, but Elijah was by his side in an instant, a hand on his arm holding him at bay. "Let her go, Kol," the eldest Original spoke softly. "We cannot force her to stay if she no longer wishes to."

"Why the hell not?" Kol snarled, shoving his brother's hand away and stomping from the room.

"My head hurts!" Niklaus suddenly moaned, gasping and toppling forward. If E.J. had been present, she might have realized that discovering the identity of her mother was causing Niklaus quite a headache. The hybrid had lost and regained his memory too many times in too short a time, and the sudden stress on his mind was amplified by a splitting headache.

Elijah spun around and strode over to Niklaus. "You are all right, brother," he said quietly as he gently lifted his brother up by the underarms.

"Meeting adjourned," he mumbled to Finn as he led Niklaus out of the room to find him some aspirin, unaware of the seriousness of his brother's plight.

Upstairs, inside E.J.'s wardrobe, the undone latch on the box quivered and snapped shut once more. An unearthly scream ripped through the house on another plane of existence, one that was felt but not heard. Every paranormal entity within miles of the mansion felt the scream rip through them and it felled them to their knees.

E.J. had to believe it for the latch to remain undone.

TVDTVDTVDTVDTVD

The streets of Mystic Falls were dark this time of year. She cried as she blindly ran, stumbling down alleys and up barren back roads, her thoughts running haywire the entire time. She was exhausted from some unknown force plowing her to her knees only minutes earlier and she didn't know what to do or where to go. She couldn't go to the Boarding House, and she couldn't go back _there_! Not after what had happened!

She did the only thing she could think of!

She didn't know how she knew the way, but she soon found herself standing on the porch of a small farmhouse. Hot tears were spilling down her now crimson red cheeks as she pounded on the door. A commotion from inside stirred up, but E.J. was blind to everything as she slumped against one of the porch columns and collapsed onto the top step.

The door suddenly flew open and somebody rushed outside. A large hand landed on the back of E.J.'s neck and she started, jerking up. She kicked out at the person, who yelped and cracked his head against the opposite porch column.

"E.J.!" A voice that E.J. knew. The girl looked up as Elena knelt down before her, reaching out to cup her face in her hands. "What happened?" the older girl continued, sounding worried.

E.J. only broke into sobs and threw herself into the other girl's arms. Elena gathered the small girl to her, but she was confused and felt helpless. "Come inside, E.J.," she secretly invited the girl inside as she hauled her to her feet. E.J. was worryingly light and Elena easily held her up as she led her into the house. "Let's get you seated."

At the base of the staircase stood a boy that E.J. vaguely recognized, but she was too overcome with emotion to notice as she was led to a couch and laid down. "What is she doing here?" she heard the boy demand. He sounded alarmed, but also a little concerned.

"I don't know yet," Elena replied softly. Hearing the small sounds of a phone call being made, E.J. knew that Elena was probably calling Damon, but she didn't care. Right now, she didn't care about much of anything.

TVDTVDTVDTVDTVD

When the pounding had first come on the door, Elena had thought it was just Damon being Damon again. Alaric had volunteered to answer it, dragging himself away from staring into the fireplace, glass of brandy in hand. Elena had been busily making herself a late-night snack, and Jeremy was supposedly doing homework up in his room.

Right then, it had been a fairly normal, surprisingly boring night. Elena was glad for the boredom, and glad to just be able to enjoy the mundane things of life. When she heard the commotion on the porch, she dropped the knife in her hands and sprinted for the door. She could hear Jeremy pounding down the stairs behind her, but she had already poked her head outside and had seen the cause of the enormous crash.

E.J. was bawling her eyes out on one side of the porch and Alaric was groaning and holding his head on the other. Elena knew she should be concerned about Alaric, but she also knew that the man would tell her to check on the girl first regardless if he weren't currently having a throbbing headache.

Now she was impatiently waiting for her boyfriend to arrive, desperate for somebody else to help her. Alaric had cracked his head on one of the porch columns when E.J. had kicked him away, and Jeremy was avoiding E.J. for some reason. That left Elena to care for the distraught child, and she was panicking.

The door opened and Elena swung her head around. Stefan hadn't bothered knocking. He stood in the doorway, watching her and E.J. for a moment, before striding in and making his way over. Without a word, he dropped down by E.J.'s head and laid a calming hand on the side of her face.

E.J. felt his calming presence, and her bawling suddenly stopped. She slowly opened her eyes, now hiccupping, and blinked up at the elder vampire. She groaned and rolled her neck, dropping back down onto the couch. "Oh no, you don't," Stefan mumbled to her. She suddenly felt herself being gently lifted before he settled back onto the couch with her.

E.J. sniffled and clung to Stefan's knees to keep her balance, glaring at the wall opposite her to keep from looking at either of them. She heard sounds above her and whimpered, shutting her eyes and shaking her head.

"Thank you for coming." Elena bent down to kiss Stefan on the lips, her long hair falling over her shoulder and brushing E.J.'s face. The other girl batted it away and buried her face in her hands.

"And for not telling Damon," she continued. She slowly came around and sat beside her boyfriend with E.J. straddling one of his thighs. The girl looked close to bursting into tears again and Elena bit her lip.

Stefan smiled sadly. "I didn't think he needed to know." Elena only nodded as she cocked her head, regarding E.J. with some interest.

"Let me sit with her a while," Stefan told her quietly, brushing her lips with his. "You go on and finish your sandwich." Elena raised her eyebrows. "I can smell it from here, babe."

Elena smiled softly and nodded, standing and stepping away from the couch. "Do you think she'll calm down for you?"

Stefan sighed and leaned back against the couch, subtly adjusting E.J. "Don't talk about her while she can hear you, Elena."

"Yeah," E.J. suddenly spoke up. "It's rude!" The girl suddenly giggled and turned watery eyes onto Stefan. "I wanna watch TV." Her lips fell into a pout, and Stefan suddenly found himself wanting to give this little one the world. The strong surge of protectiveness that went through him surprised him, but he chose to act on it.

"Whatever you want, sweetheart." Elena raised an eyebrow at hearing those words coming from her boyfriend's lips and clearly _not_ being directed at her and peered curiously into the living room as Stefan set E.J. aside and busied himself with finding the ever elusive remote.

"Under the armchair right next to you!" Elena called. "That's Jeremy's favorite hiding spot!"

"Hey!" came an indignant shout from the direction of Jeremy's bedroom.

"Did you honestly think we wouldn't notice?!" Elena called back.

E.J. giggled and cuddled one of the couch pillows as she watched Stefan retrieve the remote and flip the TV on. She could feel the other vampire's eyes on her, but she focused hers on the TV. Her tears were already drying, but, inside, she was still in turmoil. She knew that one of the Originals would come looking for her before too long, but she didn't care. She wouldn't go with whoever came.

Even if it was Rebekah.

TVDTVDTVDTVDTVD

Hours had gone by and E.J. still hadn't returned. Rebekah was alone outside, wallowing in her misery. She had returned to the parlor half an hour after her outburst, calmed down, but she had found it empty. She didn't feel E.J.'s presence anywhere nearby, and had realized that the girl had run away.

She had told herself she didn't care, but her heart was heavy. The apparition's words rang in her mind, and the conversation with Gloria was beginning to come back to her. The witch had sounded so sure . . . . Now Rebekah didn't know what to think.

Vampires could not procreate, and that was that. There was absolutely no way that E.J. could be her daughter.

Right?

She remembered the latch on the box and how odd the box's falling from the wardrobe and the latch's sudden opening had been. She had assumed it to be a coincidence, but she could sense something powerful coming from that box. She had ignored it before, but now it was unmistakable. Even outside, she could sense its power.

Then there was that "scream" that had ripped through her. It had felt like a scream, but she didn't know for sure. Her hair had stood on end and her teeth had chattered. She had wanted to curl up into a ball and die, although that was impossible. That scream had carried so much raw power with it that she felt like her soul had been shredded. (If only she had known that simply stepping within the mansion's walls would have protected her.)

Of their own accord, her feet began to carry her through the back door of the house, across the foyer's porcelain tile, and up the elegant staircase. She strolled down the hall only a little ways before coming to E.J.'s room. Her heart pounded in her chest as she stepped through the open door.

The box lay on E.J.'s bed, the covers still rumpled. The first thing that Rebekah noticed was that the latch was now firmly back in place. Rebekah shook her head as she took a step into the room, but she suddenly felt a thrum of power course through her. She shivered and folded her arms, quivering. Slowly, she approached the box, even though every step became harder and harder.

_I CANNOT BE CONTAINED_! The explosive voice in her head made her scream in pain from the sheer power of it, and she crumpled to her knees. The box began to shake and vibrate incessantly, the entire room beginning to throb with it.

"Stop!" she screamed. "Stop, stop, stop!"

_YOU ARE THE GIRL'S MOTHER, DEMON SPAWN! _the booming voice continued. _YOU! ARE! HER! MOTHER! BELIEVE IT ALREADY!_

As the words seared through Rebekah's mind, everything became clear to her. She knew without a shadow of a doubt that E.J. was her daughter. She could see everything happening before her eyes and she cried out in pain as the visions began to blur together.

She could see Gloria's promise, then the witch standing before an enormous grimoire, chanting. She could see E.J.'s birth and a man and a woman with the witch. The woman was lying in a bed and crying as a nurse took E.J. away. She could see the girl growing up.

"Vampires cannot procreate!" she sobbed. "It's not possible!" Even though she knew, she still fought, still argued.

_No._ The voice had suddenly softened, as if it knew it had won. _You can, the children just do not survive. But the witch saved your daughter._

"How?!" Rebekah sobbed, on the verge of hysteria once more. How could she have a daughter she had never known about?!

A chilling realization came over her as the box answered, _Niklaus. He daggered you and kept you from the child. But he also kept your daughter alive. The witch bound the girl's life to his. The longer she goes without knowing who she is, the more Niklaus will begin to forget_.

Rebekah sucked in a breath and sobbed. "E.J.!" she screamed, leaping to her feet.

The box's words about a brother she had not quite forgiven momentarily forgotten, she was now intent on finding her wayward daughter. She found that when she focused her energy on E.J., she found her quite easily.

Her eyes snapped open and she stared at the box in amazement. "I am going to bring my daughter back." Rebekah stood proud as she marched swiftly out of the room.

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At the single, sharp knock at the door, Elena's head jerked up. "I wonder who that could possibly be?" she grumbled to herself, thinking it was Damon. She passed E.J., who was happily watching a late-night showing of old _Seinfeld_ reruns, as she made her way to the door.

When she opened it, her eyes widened for a moment before she caught herself and kept herself from falling backwards. Rebekah stood in the doorway. Her hair was a mess, her eyes red-rimmed as if she had been crying, and she was wearing pajamas. She glared hatefully at Elena as she stood on her porch, arms folded.

"Let me in," she spoke simply, her eyes dilating as she did.

Elena stared at her for a moment before shaking her head and glaring at Rebekah. "I'm on vervain, Rebekah. You can't compel me."

"I know that E.J. is here," Rebekah answered as if she hadn't spoken. "And I want her back."

Now Elena was getting angry, ready to defend her young friend. "She's not yours to take back, Rebekah," she said through gritted teeth.

"Of course she is," Rebekah snarled back. "She is my daughter."

A rush of air blew past Elena and E.J. was suddenly between her and Rebekah, glaring up at the Original. Elena was behind the young vampire, and couldn't see her face, but Rebekah could. The girl looked torn between anger and ecstasy.

Rebekah was not very good at apologizing, but gazing into those red-rimmed, oak-green eyes melted her normally cold heart. "I am so sorry, baby," she said in a hitched voice, just keeping herself from faltering in her speech. "I was just scared." Her voice softened so much at the end that Elena did not catch her last words.

E.J. stared up at the Original for a moment before she suddenly surged forwards and buried herself into Rebekah. Elena looked shocked, clutching onto the door, but it was E.J.'s decision. Elena hated herself for doing nothing, but there was nothing she could do.

"What's going on?" Stefan appeared at the top of the stairway from talking with Jeremy about a homework assignment he had missed. (Stefan shared a home economics class with Jeremy that was required for graduation.)

When he saw Rebekah, he sped down the stairs and out the door, but he paused when E.J. turned around and shot him an imploring look. "She's okay," the girl hiccupped.

Stefan stared at the young girl for a long moment before he slowly nodded. "Invite her in, Elena," he said softly.

Elena shot him a look before returning her gaze to Rebekah. The Original was now cooing at E.J. in a very strange voice and petting her hair. It was odd, and a little unnerving, and it only transgressed her indecision. "She wants to kill me."

"Don't kill her," E.J. besought immediately. "She's my friend."

Rebekah shrugged. "She daggered me in the back, but so did my own brother. I suppose I cannot kill her without killing Niklaus."

E.J. looked surprised for a moment before she furrowed her brow and stared up at her mother. "Huh?"

"Another time, darling," Rebekah replied, patiently waiting for Elena to heed her boyfriend's words.

Even though every fiber in her being was telling her not to, Elena slowly stepped aside. "Come on in, Rebekah."

**AN: The family meeting didn't work out so well, I see. Those two girls are just too hormonal for their own good. The mysterious box strikes again! What is it, you ask? In a few chapters you will see. Next chapter E.J.'s father is revealed! OMG! By the way, I was fairly certain that Rebekah had never been invited inside the Gilbert house (prior to 3/13). I apologize if that's wrong. I can't remember everything from the series and I don't feel like skimming through the episodes to find it. Thanks for reading!**


	11. Chapter 11

**To **_**JennyMikaelson**_**: First and foremost, thanks for reviewing! E.J. could only hear the thoughts that Damon projected at her. In the books, there was this idea of thought-communication. I took it to another level in that paranormal entities (vampires, werewolves, and witches) can project their thoughts to others. As to the box, I can say this: It is based from the books. Think bigger than a witch. Unless you've read the books, I doubt you'll be able to guess, because it's completely original. (The character itself, even though the entity is based from the books.)**

**To **_**kadienewberg**_**: Thanks for reviewing again! It is definitely sad that Rebekah missed out on everything. That's one reason I made E.J. only fourteen, because I wanted Rebekah to at least be able to mother her somewhat. Jeremy was acting that way because he remembered E.J. from the bar and was spooked because she compelled him on vervain. I didn't know if anybody would remember that. Although an interesting idea, Jeremy is only sixteen and E.J. is sixty-five. No possible way he could be her father. As to the Salvatores . . . it's pretty much a toss-up between them, isn't it? Is it even one of them? Why am I asking you questions I know the answers to?**

**To **_**chathg14: **_**Thanks for reviewing! I love hearing from each and every one of you. This chapter should shed some light on E.J.'s parentage. I can't say if you're right . . . read on to find out!**

**To **_**madison**_**: I do think that Rebekah would be a good mother. She loves hard and nearly unconditionally. Heck, she forgave Klaus for killing her mother. That's love right there. It was mentioned in the last chapter by the "box" about how E.J. is tied to Klaus. Gloria cast a spell to connect the two to save E.J.'s life. Remember the spell that Esther cast to connect the Originals together? Think of it as similar to that but on a smaller scale.**

**To **_**nessafly**_**: Heeheeheehee! I am so glad to hear from you! Here's the next chapter for your enjoyment. And if you could express mail me my chocolate, that would be grand. **

**To **_**zaja**_**: Thanks for reviewing! I had some new reviewers for this chapter. And yes, a huge one! I had given little to no hints about E.J.'s father before, because I didn't have a lot of chance. I tried to make up for it with the last chapter. You'll have to let me know if your guess was right, I'm curious.**

**To **_**Marauders12345**_**: Very well deduced, young padawan. I'm excited to write about the Originals too, but there's still so much to reveal! Damon will be a regular for pretty much the rest of the story. Wow, has he been absent for long? He makes an appearance in this chapter!**

**AN: Wow, I got seven reviews! I'm so giddy, I could kiss you all! But I won't because, one, that's impossible and, two, that would be weird. This chapter is a bit repetitious, and might be a tad chaotic, but it had to be done! Don't forget that E.J.'s father is revealed in this chapter, and you know what that means. The box will open! OMG! While I still can, I will make you all a new deal. Seven plus reviews and I will update Friday. Any less and I will update Sunday. (Today is Thursday for me.) Does anybody want to take a stab at what the box might be? Hint: The idea came heavily from the books, the later ones. And does anybody remember the box's name? If you guess correctly, I'll give you virtual cookies! Enjoy this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: Reference previous disclaimers.**

The tension in the room was thick. Rebekah and E.J. were seated on the couch, E.J. sitting as close to Rebekah as physically possible without being on her lap, and Elena and Stefan were standing on the other side of the coffee table in front of the fireplace. Rebekah kept glancing between Stefan and E.J., her brow furrowed in thought, and Elena was trying to decide if this topped the list as the weirdest moment of her life.

"I never noticed before," Rebekah suddenly spoke up, speaking to no one in particular, "but E.J. has the same color eyes as Stefan." Immediately, E.J. and Stefan stared at each other, to see if it was true, and Elena's head whipped between them, eyes widening.

Rebekah was lost in thought, in memories, to be exact. How could E.J. exist, anyway? Children didn't just appear from thin air: they were born. With both a mother _and_ a father. She was the mother, so who was the father?

For that matter . . . how the hell could she have a kid she didn't know about? Something dawned on Rebekah that she hadn't even thought about until that moment. There was no possible way she could have carried a child and given birth to it without knowing. It just wasn't possible! The certainty that she felt that E.J. was her daughter was almost unnerving. She remembered what she had seen and frowned.

She had seen a woman and a man. And the woman had been giving birth to . . . . _Holy Odin_! Rebekah thought. _Another woman gave birth to her! How the hell is that even possible?_ If she didn't get some answers pretty soon, she was going to lose it.

Even more pressing on her mind still was E.J.'s father. She knew that children could be conceived artificially. Is that what had happened? Gloria had said she would help her. Did Gloria do something? Was in vitro fertilization even possible back then?

She was oblivious to the tension her innocent comment had caused. Stefan's jaw was now set, his oak-green eyes hard as he stared E.J. down. In fact, upon closer inspection, there were other similarities. The way they both cocked their heads, the way they both smiled. Subtle things that Stefan had never noticed before, never had _time_ to notice before. Oddly enough, E.J.'s chestnut-brown hair looked to be a mix of the shades of Rebekah's and Stefan's hair. _That's a little odd_, Stefan thought.

The more and more that Rebekah thought about it, the more she began to realize how obvious it all was. "E.J., how old are you?" Rebekah asked mildly.

E.J. tore her gaze away from Stefan and blinked up at Rebekah. "Um, sixty-five, why?"

Rebekah's gaze was intent as she looked between her and Stefan. "So you were born in . . . 1945?"

"1944, actually," E.J. answered. "My birthday's in a few months. Again, why?"

Rebekah seemed to be thinking hard. "That's impossible."

"Er, why's it impossible?"

Rebekah reached up to rub at her temple. "I was stuck in a coffin with a dagger sticking out of my chest since 1922. If you're my daughter, then either something weird happened, or . . . this is all wrong."

E.J. scrunched up her nose and immediately shook her head, cuddling up to Rebekah. "No, it isn't!"

"I can explain that." E.J. sprung away from Rebekah and swung around. When her eyes landed on Gloria, solid this time, she leapt to her feet and glared.

"Then, explain away, please!" the girl snarled. She was unaware that two vampires and a doppelganger were staring at her with wide eyes.

Gloria looked nervous as she shifted from feet to feet. "After Rebekah was . . . er, _with_ your father—" Gloria paused for a moment as if uncertain that she should go on, gaze flashing from person to person. Finally, she seemed to come to a decision and continued smoothly as if nothing had happened, "I magically removed you and kept you frozen as a zygote for several years. I couldn't find Rebekah, and I didn't want you to be born without her. Finally, I decided to plant you inside a willing surrogate because I was uncertain of how long you could survive frozen like that."

E.J. stared at her, eyes wide. She slowly sat back down, leaned against the couch, and closed her eyes. "I . . . am now scarred for life."

"What are you talking about?" Rebekah wrapped her hand around E.J.'s arm and pulled her to her bosom.

"That was Gloria," E.J. replied, voice dull. Before anybody could say anything, "Yes, I can see and have conversations with dead people." Elena's mouth snapped shut, and things finally began to make sense for Stefan. So E.J. _wasn't_ crazy! "She said she kept me frozen in a fridge because she couldn't find you, but then she was afraid I'd die so she planted me in a sugar kit."

Stefan stared. "A . . . sugar kit?"

E.J. shrugged. "Something like that. Oh, and you apparently had sex with my dad, so that should help."

Rebekah immediately jerked up and her and Stefan's eyes met. As they stared at each other, she began to slowly nod and Stefan's eyes widened noticeably. He stared at E.J., then at Rebekah, and then back to E.J. "No way in hell," he breathed out in shock.

Rebekah just nodded again, firmer this time. "Stefan . . . there is nobody else."

E.J., who wasn't very observant, asked, clearly clueless, "What are you talking about?"

Elena had picked up on what Rebekah was getting at and swung around to glare at a still wide-eyed Stefan. "You _slept_ with her?!" At that moment, she didn't care that she hadn't even been born when that had happened.

"It was a long time ago!" Stefan threw his hands up as if to ward his angry girlfriend off.

Finally, E.J. realized what exactly was being discussed right under her nose and squealed. "Oh my gosh, are you sayin' that Stefan's—Holy $*&#!"

She stared between her two "parents," torn between excitement and disbelief. Nobody even bothered to scold her about her language. "No freakin' way!" E.J. squealed again.

Suddenly, a ripple of sheer power ripped through the house, on another plane of existence, and Gloria screamed. E.J.'s head jerked up and she stared at the ghost with wide eyes, only to see her phase back to the Other Side faster than she had ever seen.

"Gloria?" she breathed, eyes wide in shock, even as the pulse ripped through her body again, making her scream.

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The box lay contently on E.J.'s bed, satisfied that it had done its work well. When not even fifteen minutes later the first latch was undone once more, it knew that it had done its job _very_ well. Now it would not be long before everything would be made right, and it would be free from this prison.

Half an hour passed and a thrum went through the box as the second latch popped open.

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The parlor was filled with tense silence after Rebekah had stormed off and E.J. had run away. After temporarily disbanding the "family meeting" for a few hours, Elijah had called his brothers back into the parlor. He had called for Rebekah as well, but she had not answered. Assuming that she was still throwing a tantrum, he had decided to simply speak with his brothers. Elijah was at the wet bar making himself a drink, muttering something about a migraine coming on. Finn was sitting on the couch, staring at Niklaus, who was seated next to him. The hybrid hadn't said much since Rebekah had first burst into his room three hours ago. His eyes were downcast as he sat slumped on the couch, arms folded and eyebrows furrowed.

Kol was seated cross-legged in the armchair, a Nintendo DS in his hands. He was staring at the screen, making no move to actually play the game his screen was currently displaying. His mouth was set in a tight line, his eyebrows furrowed as well, and a hard, steely look was in his eyes. He couldn't decide if he were most irritated at Rebekah, E.J., or Elijah.

"Something's wrong with me." Niklaus's words startled Elijah, but Finn merely nodded and Kol only briefly glanced at his youngest older brother.

Normally, Elijah did not startle easily, but he was on edge about . . . well, about pretty much everything, actually. He set down his drink and strode over to Niklaus, sitting down on his other side and sharing a look with Finn. The second eldest Original sat back away from Niklaus, an indication that Elijah was to take control.

"My mind just sometimes goes," Niklaus finally continued. "The first time it happened I couldn't remember anything about it afterwards, but I remember now. Both times! I actually forgot how to speak English!" He huffed heavily and pursed his lips. "What is _wrong_ with me?"

Elijah sighed and reached up a hand to run it through his hair. "I honestly have no idea, Niklaus. I can't say what scared me more. When you were coughing up blood or when you were acting like it was 1492 again."

Niklaus suddenly froze and stared up at Elijah. "Lijah," he said, eyes wide, "I was acting that way because I thought it _was_ 1492." Elijah stared at his brother, uncomprehending. Finn was now sitting up, looking between his brothers, clearly unsure of what to do, and even Kol was perked up listening.

"You what?" Elijah spluttered in disbelief.

Niklaus shrugged, at a loss for words for once in his life. The silver-tongued Original for once had nothing to say. He could only rest his head against the couch, eyes trained on his lap. He couldn't quite look any of his brothers in the eye (even though Kol still had his eyes on his game so he couldn't have looked him in the eye even if he'd wanted to), ashamed of his earlier actions.

"And now?" Elijah prompted.

"What is the year?" Finn asked at the same time.

"2010," Niklaus answered irritably. "And you wanna know what else?" Neither of his elder brothers bothered to answer the rhetorical question. "The first time, I thought it 914." He finally met Elijah's shocked and worried gaze. "One thousand and ninety-six years, Lijah," Niklaus moaned. "Just gone one moment and back the next."

Before Elijah could respond, an enormous ripple snapped through the house, as if traveling on another plane of existence. The four brothers jumped. Elijah leapt up from the couch and raced out of the parlor to investigate. Niklaus slumped down further in his seat and groaned, burying his face in his hands. Finn could only sit, jaw set and eyes alarmed. Kol had dropped his game in fright, wild eyes roaming around the room.

"Did you guys feel that?" the second youngest Original asked nervously.

Niklaus just shook his head and moaned again, but Finn turned to Kol and smiled grimly. "I'm sure it was nothing, Kol," he replied quietly. "Go back to your thingy."

Kol glared at him, muttering something about schizophrenic old people, before leaning forward in his seat and peering out the doorway leading out of the parlor. "It sure seemed to spook Elijah," he quipped, purposefully ignoring Finn's suggestion.

At his name, the eldest Original returned, composure finally restored. "Something happened—" he began.

"No chizz," Kol interrupted. "I _thought_ I felt something!" Elijah shot him a hideous look and Kol wisely shut up.

Elijah continued, "Something unnatural. It is almost like a storm, it seems. All around us is carnage but we are in the eye of the storm."

Finn frowned. "It missed us?"

Elijah nodded. "It would appear so."

"How do you know?" Kol demanded, clutching his DS in his clammy hands.

Elijah sighed. "You know I am the most perceptive of us all, Kol." The Originals could sometimes perceive the thoughts of others, Elijah the most perceptive of all. With each other, they could speak and hear freely, which could be a blessing and a curse. To himself, Elijah wondered if that might explain how E.J. could hear Rebekah and Kol's conversation at the school. If she really was Rebekah's daughter, then she would be included in the bond that they all shared that allowed them to communicate freely.

"I am aware," Kol said simply.

Elijah resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "When whatever that was snapped and spread out around us, I could feel screams in my head. Every paranormal entity in town felt it but us. We felt the snap but not the power behind it."

"Why?" Finn asked, brow furrowed.

Elijah shrugged. "Hell if I know." Finn started, staring up at his older brother with raised eyebrows. "Oh, come off it, Finn. I curse under stress."

At those words, he suddenly let out a flurry of curses and yanked out his phone. "Rebekah!"

Kol closed his eyes for a moment, sensing for his sister's presence. As the closest to her age, he was the most receptive of her aura. "She's not here," he relayed, eyes snapping open in alarm.

"Did anybody see her leave?" Niklaus sat up suddenly, looking accusingly between his two older brothers.

Elijah did not reply as he turned his iPhone on.

He had known temporarily disbanding the "family meeting" had been a bad idea, but he had wanted to give Rebekah some space and E.J. some time. Sitting around in the parlor with his brothers waiting for them both to calm down had not seemed ideal. Rebekah must have come by later, seen them gone, realized E.J. was gone, and gone after her.

"That little brat is in so much trouble," he growled as he dialed his sister's number, his brothers sending him odd looks. "Once I know she's okay," he continued after seeing his brother's looks, "then I'll ground her for the rest of eternity."

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Damon had been taking a self-imposed catnap when he felt the scream that ripped through his body like an invisible, intangible knife that could yet still cut him. He sat up in shock and rolled off of his bed, groaning and reaching down to rub at his sore bottom.

"Great," he grumbled, crawling back up onto his bed. He knew he should be concerned about that "scream." He knew that he should probably be trying to figure out what it was.

But, right then, he really didn't give a damn.

Several hours later, he was once more woken up, this time by some very rude, very insistent knocking at his door. He groaned and sat up, glaring up at the intruder of his solitude. He would have known her presence anywhere.

"Well, hello, Bonnie," he greeted, still half-asleep. The witch glared as she approached his bed, picked up the pillow he was not snuggling with, and whacked him over the head with it.

"What the hell!" Damon sat up in shock and Bonnie immediately looked away when his sheet fell away. Damon glared at her as he hurriedly yanked his pants back on.

"You can look now," he snarled as he finished cinching his belt. "Or would you prefer to hit me with a pillow again?"

"You wouldn't answer your phone!" Bonnie replied, still turned away with her hand on the side of her face. "And you wouldn't answer the door!"

"What the hell's wrong with you anyway, Bonbon?" Damon grouched as he sloppily made his bed and trotted around the foot to stand beside Bonnie.

"Don't call me that!" Bonnie snapped, clearly irritated. Finally, she looked back at Damon and glared. "I had a vision, Damon."

Damon raised an eyebrow. "You're havin' visions now?"

"I'm serious!" Bonnie exclaimed, sounding desperate. "It was bad, Damon. A power like I've never felt before. We can't let it be unleashed!"

At that moment, something unexplainable pulsed through the room and left Damon a screaming mess on the floor. The sheer power ripped through another plane of existence and right through Damon. Although physically he was fine, on a metaphysical plane he had just been shredded mentally by what could only be explained as a cosmic nuclear wave that had ripped through the very fabric of the universe.

Bonnie's eyes suddenly snapped open and she gasped in a breath. Her eyes glazed over, turning silver, for a moment as she breathed heavily. Then, she spoke in a voice that was not her own, a voice that sounded like many, "He is back."

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Caroline had not been having a very good day. Nobody would return her calls or texts and her mom had to work late on a parent-teacher conference day. She had no school and she was home alone with nobody to talk to!

She had spent the day shamelessly dancing to Kelly Clarkson and Justin Bieber in her room and then deciding to finally do that load of laundry she'd had sitting in the laundry room for days. Then she had watched TV, mostly boring adult stuff or stupid kid stuff.

"Disney Channel sucks," Caroline grumbled as she finally switched the TV off.

Night had fallen and she left the house, her hunger beginning to gnaw at her. She hadn't been hunting in days, her refrigerator empty of bagged blood. She knew she should have gotten more, but she hated the idea of robbing a hospital or blood bank. Now, she had no choice but to see if Stefan and Damon had some left.

She was just putting her key in the ignition when she felt an unbelievable pain rip through a part of her body she didn't even know existed. She screamed and convulsed, flopping around uncontrollably in the car, kicking at the door and nearly shattering the glass with her pointy heels.

This power pulsed through her for what felt like hours before it finally began to subside, but then Caroline knew that something dreadful had just happened.

"I'm scared!" she cried, breaking down into noisy sobs, her body still throbbing in pain.

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Chicago was a busy city, no matter the time of year. Standing behind the glass wall inside a tall skyscraper staring down at the tiny cars hurtling to and fro was a young-looking woman. She sighed as she cocked her head, inspecting a world that she had once been a part of. Before she had met Him and He had made her what she was.

She was beautiful in ways no mere human could be. Her white-blonde hair glowed as the sun hung low in the sky, her ice-blue eyes sparking with anger and annoyance. Her porcelain skin looked to be made of glass, but she was anything but fragile. Within her small frame pulsed a power given to her by Him, the one who had been around for longer than any human calendar went back.

"It has been sixty-five years, Mabel." A man stood behind Mabel with his back to her. The conference room they were currently met at was luxurious and modern. The light-gray porcelain tile gleamed and the enormous crystal chandelier above their heads twinkled with hundreds of different pinpoints of light.

The conference room was more like an apartment. One side of the room contained white-leather furniture and a black, fuzzy rug spread out on the floor. Another side held a small kitchenette complete with coffee station, and mounted on a wall across from the couches was an enormous plasma-screen TV. The wall that the young woman faced and the wall left-adjacent it were entirely made of windows, allowing the quickly diminishing sunlight to stream into the room.

"We are wasting time." A second woman stood with her back to the wall near the kitchenette, coffee mug in hand. Her white-blonde hair was swept up on top of her head in an elegant bun, her round pixie face accentuating her fragile appearance. Her ice-blue eyes pierced her companions, her gaze unforgiving. She was wearing curve-hugging blue jeans and a lavender top with one ruffled sleeve, the other shoulder bare, and a low scoop neck.

The other woman was more formal, her smart black dress and black heels telling all that she meant business. She turned from her place at the window and glared at the other woman. "Do tell, Evangeline. What would you prefer we do?"

"You are wasting breath." The fourth and final occupant of the room, a short and stocky man with the palest hair and bluest eyes of them all, was sitting slouched on one of the couches.

"I agree with Gerald," the first man spoke. He was the tallest among them, well over six feet, and his pale blonde hair was cropped. His blue-green eyes held no emotion as he spoke and he averted his gaze from that of Mabel's.

"We apologize, gentleman," Evangeline spoke. "My sister and I are very sorry for the inconvenience."

Before Mabel could defend her honor, possibly with a knife at her twin's throat, the door opened and a fifth companion stepped through.

All went silent when she entered, her dark eyes scanning the room. "Nothing to say, children?" she asked in a soothing, alluring voice. Unlike the four elf-like beings before her, this woman was a dark beauty. Her chocolate-brown hair was cut boyishly short, accentuating her rounded face.

Her tight black pants left nothing to the imagination, and her black tank top's neck fell lower than Evangeline's. Over that she wore a black-leather jacket, a simple crystal necklace hanging around her neck. Her stiletto-heeled, black-leather boots clicked against the porcelain tile as she approached the two men and two women.

"Come now," she said, a note of teasing in her tone. "You all must have _something_ to say."

The first man's eyes fell when the woman raised hers to meet his gaze. "We are sorry, Lady Tatia," the man said dejectedly. "We can still not find Him."

Tatia growled in annoyance, spinning on her heel and stamping her foot. "Not the answer I want, Sven! I expect more of you!"

Sven's eyes dropped to his feet. "Yes, milady."

Tatia's eyes swept over the assembled Guardians and she sighed. "This must be done, yes," she said simply. "He must be found and He must be restored to power. The balance of nature is off. The paranormal are gaining leverage, and there is no one powerful enough to combat it."

Her eyes darkened as she slowly approached Mabel, the eldest of those assembled. "He has been missing for sixty-five years. Anyone care to explain to me how?" she snapped. Nobody spoke. "No takers? Cowards!"

Her words clearly affected the only remaining Guardians, who winced and shied away from her.

Tatia's eyes sparked with rage as she slowly approached Mabel, grabbing the woman by the arm and spinning her around. Evangeline pushed off from the wall and moved to assist her sister, but Tatia need only put up a hand to stop the woman in her tracks.

"Leave her be!" Evangeline commanded in a deep, resonant voice. Tatia merely looked at her before putting a hand delicately on Mabel's slender neck and shoving her forward. Sven rushed forward and caught her before she could fall and easily lifted her back to her feet.

"Is this how you repay Him?!" Tatia spat, wheeling around and facing Gerald now. "By sitting on your worthless asses and contemplating the mysteries of the world? Why is no one _doing_ anything?!"

At that moment, when Tatia was about to go into a blind rage and rip somebody's heart out, a pulse ripped through the room. The windows shook for a moment before they imploded, glass shards flying everywhere. The five inhabitants screamed and fell to the ground, covering their heads with their arms.

Even Tatia was trembling on the ground with fear. She had recognized that pulse of power. It could be none other than Him. No other being was powerful enough to create a power surge that enormous.

Slowly, her heart stopped pounding so hard and Tatia could raise her head. The room still thrummed with power and she whimpered.

"That came from Mystic Falls, Virginia!" Evangeline relayed once she had regained the use of her motor functions. She knelt gasping on the ground, her hands clenching at nothing.

Tatia's eyes darkened and she bowed her head. "He is back." She slowly raised her head once more and leaned back so she could look at the four relatively all at once. "And He is angry."

Mabel's mouth was set in a grim line. "We must go to Him." And to think they were worried about their Master being lost. Clearly, He was back, and just as powerful as ever.

Tatia only nodded. "To Mystic Falls we go, then."

**AN: That was dramatic! For anybody who missed it, the mansion was not affected by the "power surge." Was anybody surprised by the identity of E.J.'s father? I like the Rebekah and Stefan relationship, and I could see them having a child together. There were really only two options: Stefan and Damon, since I used Rebekah as the mother. Remember, everybody, Klaus felt a connection to E.J., as did the other Originals. Damon's connection with E.J. is because E.J. is his **_**brother's**_** daughter. P.S. I own the characters of Mabel, Evangeline, Sven, and Gerald. I do **_**not**_** own Tatia! She is from the TV series. P.S.S. The first person to guess E.J.'s father's identity correctly was SimplyFiction! She/He guessed both the mother and father correctly in the same guess. Congratulations!**

**For anybody who still is confused, let me explain more clearly about how Rebekah has a child she did not know about. Rebekah mentioned to Gloria that she wants but can't have children, and the witch, who is good friends with Rebekah, decides to help her. For a reason you will find out in later chapters, after Rebekah and Stefan are together and E.J. is conceived, Gloria removes E.J. from Rebekah and cryogenically freezes her. Such things are entirely possible, as proved with embryonic adoption. Embryos really can be removed, frozen, and then placed within a surrogate. More likely such a thing is done with in vitro fertilization, but I figured that magic kind of tore down the barriers of physics. Let me know if you're still confused. Thanks for reading!**


	12. Chapter 12

**To **_**zaja**_**: Congratulations on guessing correctly! That would have been the big hint.**

**To **_**kadienewberg**_**: Well, since I've seen maximum three episodes of **_**Powerpuff Girls**_**, you can be rest assured He is not that "He." Rebekah/Stefan will come: It will take some time to develop. And I really don't think I'll do Kennett. I hope you're not disappointed about that, but I'd prefer to find somebody else for Kol.**

**To **_**JennyMikaelson**_**: I love the idea of E.J. playing matchmaker! That's actually a great way of first getting them together, and it is definitely within her personality to do so. I hadn't even thought about that. I would like to point out that E.J. is really not like either Stefan or Rebekah in personality. She gets along with people just fine. Genetics are only part of what make us who we are, and E.J. didn't grow up with them, remember. If anything, she's the most like Kol. Scary thought, right? You'll have to wait a few chapters for Damon's reaction. It hasn't come up yet. And thanks!**

**To **_**nessafly**_**: Yes. Yes, He is. And, yes, that Tatia! Makes you curious, don't it? Unfortunately, family moments will be few and far between as I near the climax of this story. They will be there, trust me, just not that much. Damon won't find out for a few chapters. It will probably be in Chapter 15, but I'm not sure yet since I have yet to finish 14. The next chapter does have Damon, though. I guess I'd better get typing away before you guys catch up with me!**

**To **_**Marauders12345**_**: Misao and Shinichi were part of the inspiration, but they inspired his personality and behavior more. What he is was inspired by something else. Great guessing! Actually, Chinese names are usually monosyllabic, so I'd say his name is closer to Japanese. If I remember correctly, kitsune are of Japanese origin. The name is made up though, so it doesn't technically have an ethnicity behind it. **** I've never seen the fourth season, so I wouldn't know if there're any similarities between Silas and "Him." Damon won't find out for a few chapters. My muse went that way. And, yes, that Tatia! That makes you curious, doesn't it? There will be no love triangle, though! I don't pit family against family.**

**To **_**crazygurl**_**: Thanks for reviewing this chapter, then! Yay, family fluff moments will come! Along with a thickening plot, of course. Elena is a forgiving person by nature, but she will not quite "deal" with the idea, if you know what I mean. She's good at hiding it, I guess. And thanks! I'm glad you understood all of my science-y mumbo jumbo. I had to do a little research for that. **

**To **_**dreamer**_**: Welcome to my story! I can't stand spoiled brats, and would never make the main character one. I have read a few stories with this same basic idea of there being a sister/daughter of a main character, and the child (usually a girl) does tend to be spoiled. I'd never actually thought about it. I'm glad you like E.J.! She has really developed as a character as I write for her. And thanks for reviewing!**

**AN: I'll be brief, since I know you all are eager to find out who "He" is. His name is still not mentioned, so you have another chapter to guess! I'm offering up cake this time. Heads up: This is a better explanation of this new OC. He is inspired by the books, but not taken directly from them. I basically took an entity and put my own twist on it. He has a whole background that I'm excited to share with you all!**

** I need to take a few days to write more chapters so my new deal is: If I receive seven plus reviews, I will update Monday. Any less and I will update once I feel I can. It will still be soon, though! Reviews motivate and inspire me!**

**Disclaimer: Reference previous disclaimers**

Minutes passed and nothing else happened. E.J. was still crouched on the ground, hands wrapped around her head as she trembled. What on earth! Whatever that had been, it had been the most powerful, most horrific thing she had ever experienced. The pain radiating through her body was not physical but . . . metaphysical? Was that even possible?

From somewhere near, E.J. heard a groan that sounded suspiciously like Rebekah. For a moment, the fourteen-year-old was confused until she remembered the last twenty minutes or so and jerked her head up. She regretted it the minute she did, hissing in pain and putting her head between her knees. Was that a bloodstain on her white-and-gray-striped pajama shorts?

"What the hell just happened?" That sounded like Stefan, and he didn't sound good. E.J. heard scraping and panting sounds and the coffee table suddenly shifted, jutting into her side and pushing her back into the couch. Stefan immediately sensed the resistance and hurried to yank the piece of furniture away from her.

E.J. blinked up at him, gaze blurry. He looked even worse than she felt. His arms were shaking as he grasped onto the coffee table. He was on his knees, probably too weak to stand, and his eyes were wide with shock and fear. His hair was spikier than normal, and E.J. actually contemplated comparing it to looking electrocuted. Not that she had any experience with that . . .

Another groan, and E.J. recognized it as coming from behind her. It took some effort, but she managed to turn herself around to locate her groaning mother . . . that was a weird thought, thinking of Rebekah as "Mother." She found the blonde Original facedown a few yards away from her, nearer to the kitchen than the living room. All in all, she looked better than either E.J. or Stefan (which made sense, if E.J. thought about it), but she had most definitely seen better days.

She heard a crash behind her and whirled around, immediately regretting the action. Her head exploded with pain and she squeaked, slumping against the couch, grateful for its support. Stefan's arms had given out beneath him and he now lay stretched out, panting on the ground, next to an unconscious Elena. When his arm brushed his girlfriend's arm, he jumped slightly in shock and painfully turned onto his side.

"Babe?" he asked hesitantly, now more scared for her than for himself. He reached out a hand to lay it on Elena's neck and she groaned under it, reaching up to bat it away. "Are you okay?" Stefan suddenly demanded, worry making his patience wear thin.

Elena's eyes blinked open and she stared up at him. "You fell into me, you great big ox," she grumbled. "What was wrong with you all, anyway? You were all screaming and it was . . ." She groaned and shook her head, turning away from Stefan. "Nope. Not until after your head stops hurting, Elena."

"Did you hit your head?" Stefan asked, suddenly panicked. He tried to reach out to lay his hand on her forehead, but she simply batted it away again. "Elena, you're scaring me!"

"Shut up!" E.J. slowly turned to where Rebekah was now sitting up, futilely trying to smooth her hair down. She was glaring at Stefan, but must have sensed E.J.'s gaze on her. "You okay, baby?" she asked softly, as if suddenly remembering that E.J. was her daughter. Besides her wrinkled red tank top and black yoga pants, mussed-up hair, and bloodshot eyes, Rebekah looked just fine.

E.J. didn't have the energy to answer, and instead groaned out a reply. Rebekah climbed painfully to her feet and was stumbling toward her daughter when her cellphone went off. The blaring Justin Bieber song made Stefan quirk an eyebrow up at her—looking both disturbed and amused, E.J. noticed. Rebekah glared as she fumbled for her phone.

"Where the hell it is?" she mumbled as it continued to go off. She didn't have any pockets, so where was the sound coming—? "Oh, right!" Stefan turned away in disgust when the Original reached down into her shirt and plucked her phone from its depths. E.J. was wondering why she hadn't figured out where it was sooner. _Doesn't she feel it vibrating, or something_? she thought distractedly.

Rebekah had answered as E.J. was thinking very "deep" thoughts to herself. "You don't sound very good, big brother," Rebekah answered the caller, reaching up to rub a hand over her face, yawning widely. "Did you feel it, too?" After a moment, "_Seriously_? _That's_ what you're worried about? Forget about the damn 'curfew' thing, Lijah!" Rebekah winced and reached up to hold her pounding head.

E.J. swore she could hear the reply that Elijah gave, that's how loud and sharp it was. The eldest Original was only patient to a certain point. Rebekah sounded much meeker as she remedied, "Oh, right. I don't have a curfew: I'm not supposed to leave the house without one of you." She frowned and shook her head, practically pouting. "I came to find E.J. Doesn't that count for anything?"

Rebekah sighed as she hung up, cutting her brother's lecture off. "Home now, love," she mumbled to her daughter. "Big brother's going all parental on me again." She suddenly blinked, scrunching her nose up in thought. "Huh. I suppose if you're my kid that makes Elijah, Nik, Kol, and Finn your uncles, huh?" A snort and another face rub. "That's a strange thought."

"Not without me, you're not!" Stefan grumbled, staggering painfully to his feet. Rebekah gave him a blank look and Stefan growled, although it didn't sound all that threatening when he could barely stand up straight. "I'm not letting E.J. out of my sight!"

Rebekah wrinkled her nose again. "Even when she's in the bathroom or changing her clothes? What are you, a pervert?"

That was a very valid point. Stefan hadn't thought that through. "Okay, _almost_ never!"

"Hello!" Elena grumbled from the ground as she sat up. "Is anybody going to explain to me what just happened? You guys were screaming like somebody'd staked you or something."

E.J. moaned and rolled her neck in an attempt to relieve the stiffness. "It felt like somebody was trying to rip me apart from the inside out," she mused. "But it didn't feel—real, or something."

"It was not tangible?" Rebekah offered lightly.

"Yeah, it wasn't tan-able," E.J. agreed, apparently not knowing what the word "tangible" meant.

"We're coming with you," Stefan mumbled, trying to walk over normally to stand between Rebekah and E.J.

"What's this 'we' business?" Elena mumbled. She climbed to her feet, reaching up to hold her head, and noticed E.J. "Oh, right. You're actually Stefan's daughter. I momentarily forgot." E.J. wasn't sure exactly how she should take that comment. Elena looked as if she was torn between acceptance and jealousy.

"I'm sorry," E.J. mumbled. At her words, Elena's eyes softened and she brushed past her boyfriend to kneel before her. Apparently, she had not experienced whatever trauma her three vampire companions had. She did keep rubbing the side of her head, but she didn't look as if every muscle in her body was sore and every joint ached.

"It's not your fault, honey," Elena said softly. She reached down and gently helped E.J. to her feet. The smaller girl weighed less than one hundred pounds, but her inability to hold herself up made holding her weight much more difficult for Elena.

"I've got her," Rebekah snapped. She did not appear to be as battered as the two younger vampires, but she was stiff as she shuffled toward Elena and E.J. She tried to sweep her daughter up into her arms, but instantly hissed and stepped away, shaking her head and reaching back to rub at her lower back. "Never mind."

"Get on my back, E.J.," Elena offered before she could change her mind. E.J. was light, but Elena wasn't exactly known for her strength. She was pretty certain she could carry the other girl for a little ways, though. She hoped that either Stefan or Rebekah could take over by the time her body really began protesting.

E.J. did not even protest as Elena bent down. She clambered onto her back, wrapping her arms tightly around Elena's neck. "Need to breathe, E.J.!" Elena reminded her before even attempting to stand. Even barely conscious, E.J. was still strong and could easily suffocate her.

The girl obligingly loosened her grip, and the four made their way out the door. Elena thought to holler up to her brother and Alaric that she was leaving, before remembering that Alaric was probably knocked out from pain meds (E.J. kicked him and he cracked his skull on one of the porch frames, remember) and Jeremy had taken off for The Grill before Rebekah had shown up.

So, Elena decided not to bother leaving a note, rationalizing that she had her phone in her back pocket, so why bother?

TVDTVDTVDTVDTVD

Rebekah, Stefan, and E.J. stopped aching about halfway to the mansion. E.J. slipped down from Elena's back (to Elena's relief) and hopped up onto Stefan's, much to Rebekah's annoyance. The girl immediately started up a lively commentary as they continued on their way. The vampires could have sped, but running did not sound desirable after just recovering from their odd plight. That, and Elena was not too keen on being taken along on a "ride," as she and the other human members of the "gang" had come to call speeding with a vampire.

As it was, they still reached the mansion in under half an hour, and Rebekah marched up semi-confidently to open the door. Before she could, the door was swung open, and she had a moment of déjà vu. Really, what were the odds of it happening twice? Although, the door did not bang this time.

Most likely because it was Elijah who was at the door (instead of Finn, who had a temper that made Niklaus's look mild), looking irritated and about as not composed as he was capable. "Where the hell were you?" he asked his sister in a thick, strained voice. He sounded both sick with worry and pissed as hell.

Rebekah had been all ready to defend herself, to bitch at Elijah for being such a worrywart, but she could see in her brother's eyes just how worried he had been. It had been a very long day for Rebekah, who, no matter how many years she had resided on this earth, was still only eighteen years old, and she did what any other girl her age would do.

She broke down. Whether it was natural instinct or just convenience, she launched herself at her brother, nearly knocking him to the ground. Elijah's façade promptly dropped and he crushed his little sister in a hug. He looked as near to tears as any of the other three present had ever seen him, but he still held on to his composure.

Stefan and Elena were beginning to feel uncomfortable as the hug went on for several minutes. Rebekah showed no signs of calming, and Elijah was not making any attempt to comfort her besides holding her. His gaze lifted from the ground to E.J. and he frowned. E.J. remembered what she had said before storming off and suddenly felt embarrassed.

"Sorry, Uncle Lijah," she said before she could think.

Elijah promptly shoved his sister away and stared wide-eyed at E.J. Rebekah stumbled away, looking from her brother to her daughter, wondering how she could explain this.

"E.J. really is my daughter," she said simply. Elijah's head whipped toward her, and she nearly flinched, but held her ground. Everything about his stance and expression demanded an explanation. "I can't explain how I know: I just do." Elijah only stared. "And Stefan's her father, just so you know."

Now Elijah's head whipped toward Stefan, who shot Rebekah a panicked look. Stefan had been a dumb teenage boy once. (Damon would argue he still was one.) A dumb teenage boy who had begun getting a little too cozy with a schoolmate for her older brother's liking. That older brother had broken his nose with one solid punch, and Stefan had learned a valuable lesson about messing with big brothers.

He was pretty sure sleeping with a girl was enough to warrant far more than a punch, considering who the "big brothers" in question were. Never mind it had happened eighty-eight years ago.

E.J. came to his rescue, whether accidentally or purposefully, Stefan didn't know and didn't care. "Why are you glaring at Daddy like that, Uncle Elijah?" Stefan glanced down to stare wide-eyed at E.J. (had she just called him what he thought she just called him?) and Elijah turned his head slightly to blink at her.

"No reason," he finally answered, his composure coming back. "Do come inside." He stepped aside and Rebekah promptly hurried past him. E.J. followed after her promptly, but Elena had to practically drag Stefan through the door. Stefan could literally feel Elijah's glare on his back as he was dragged after E.J. and Rebekah.

". . . and you are certain you are both unharmed?" came an unfamiliar voice as Elena and Stefan approached a room that Elena assumed to be the parlor. The mansion was an older-styled home even though it was a new building. Probably came from its architect being a thousand-year-old hybrid.

Stefan and Elena stepped through and Elena tugged her boyfriend to the right to stand nearer to the fireplace. Rebekah was sitting on the lap of a strange man, apparently telling him about what they had experienced at Elena's house.

Damon had paid a visit to the Originals after Elijah had undaggered his siblings and the five had decided to live together. He had decided to try to weasel a bargain out of Elijah, but what he got instead was introductions to the rest of the family. Stefan and Elena had never met Finn, but they knew Kol from school.

Three men, including the one Rebekah was sitting with, occupied the parlor. One of them was Klaus, who was standing near to the fireplace talking to an excited E.J. ". . . so that makes you my uncle!" she was saying. "Isn't that so cool?!"

"Quite 'awesome,' as you kids say," Klaus replied with a chuckle and a twinkle in his eye. Elena would never get over how E.J. seemed capable of turning the hybrid into a lovable teddy bear with just a bat of her blonde lashes.

The third man was sitting cross-legged in an armchair, his eyes focused on a Nintendo DS in his hands. His tongue was between his teeth as he concentrated, seemingly unaware of the others' presence in the room.

"Guess what, Kol!" E.J. bounced over and leaned over the back of his chair and into his personal space.

"Huh?" the Original asked without glancing up from his game.

"You're my uncle!" she giggled, reaching down to flick his screen.

Kol paused for a moment, glanced up at E.J., and blinked twice. "Okay." And then he glanced back down and was absorbed again.

E.J. rolled her eyes, although Elena noticed that she was smiling, as she trotted over to Rebekah and Finn. "Oh my gosh!" the girl suddenly shrieked, freezing with a foot in the air. "MY BOX!" And then she was gone from the room, and Stefan was reaching up to rub his throbbing eardrum.

E.J. shoved past a just entering Elijah on her way out, hollering over her shoulder, "Sorry, Uncle Lijah!"

"I will never get used to that," the eldest Original muttered.

E.J. was torn between excitement and apprehension as she tore up the stairs to her room. How could she have forgotten about her box?! Gloria had said to "discover who you are" to open the box, and then the box itself had reiterated that point!

Wait, what? She slowed down as she neared her ajar bedroom door, pondering what had just popped into her mind. Hadn't that been a dream? But a very important dream? Huh?

Her thoughts immediately ground to a halt when she stepped through her bedroom door.

"What the hell?!" she growled, leaping into the room and staring around at the carnage in disbelief. It looked as if a tornado had blown through. Her wardrobe was facedown on the ground, its contents blown haphazardly around the room, and her bed had moved fifteen feet closer to her thrown open balcony doors.

What had really grabbed her attention was the boy standing on her balcony, looking as if he broke into and trashed people's houses every day. He hadn't even glanced up at her exclamation, but by his change of stance, E.J. could tell he had noticed her.

"Who the hell are you?" she demanded, carefully making her way over to him. She thought briefly that that might be a very bad idea, but she was a friggin' vampire! She could take some scrawny dude who thought vandalism was funny!

Finally, the boy turned around, and E.J. reeled away in shock.

Beautiful could not even describe him. His curly hair was an odd mixture of gold, light brown, and pale, pale blonde, resting in a curly mass atop his head. His skin was so perfect to be unreal, and it was so pale it seemed to literally glow in the waning early night hours. In fact, his entire being seemed to glow, pulse even, E.J. might say.

What had really captured E.J.'s attention was his eyes. Even from her distance, she could see them. They were the bluest blue that she had ever seen, lighting up his face and piercing her through with a single stare.

It took several moments for E.J. to get her breath back. "Do you even know what you're doing?" she demanded rudely to hide how madly she was blushing. How could a guy this gorgeous even exist? "Do you have any idea where you are? And do you have _any_ idea who lives here?"

Without a word, the boy pushed off from the balcony's railing and strode back into the room, not looking where he was going but yet not tripping over a single thing. E.J.'s heart began to beat faster in her chest as he approached. (She had always wondered why she had a heartbeat and other vampires didn't, but she barely noticed it until times like this.) The closer he drew to her, the more she began to realize that it wasn't the setting sun that was setting off the porcelain skin tone.

He was frickin' _glowing._ "Hello, E.J." When he spoke, E.J. felt her knees go weak and she stumbled away from him. His voice was not that of a teenage boy going through adolescence, but it sounded closer to a soothing waterfall. His words flowed together beautifully, and there was almost a poetic way in which he spoke, as if he were singing without actually singing.

"Or"—he smiled and his entire face lit up—"should I call you Esther Joy?" If E.J. hadn't been attracted to him before, she was now. But, at her full name, she gaped and squeaked. Was it normal to feel both attracted to and terrified of teenage boys?

"Do not fear me, child," the boy spoke gently. His tone now became that of a cooing dove and E.J. was helpless as he took her by the hand and led her to her bed. His hand was warmer than normal, and it warmed the poor girl to her bones. As a vampire, her body temperature was naturally cooler, but his hand did not feel normal. When humans were hot, they tended to feel feverish and sweaty. This boy's skin just felt warm—like the sun was radiating within his body and warming her with its rays.

Wait, what had he just called her? E.J. was speechless as he knelt beside her and took one of her hands in his. "You are safe now," he said. E.J. felt herself drowning in the blueness of his eyes as he gazed up at her. "I will protect you."

"E.J.?" The voice at the door startled the girl out of her reverie, and she gasped. She was struggling to recover from the strange sway the boy had over her, and was unable to tell her mother that now was _not_ the best time.

The boy had stiffened at Rebekah's voice, standing up and turning around swiftly. Rebekah froze at the sight of him, probably as taken by his beauty as E.J. was. "Er, hi," the Original said nervously. "I didn't realize E.J. had a friend over."

The boy's eyes narrowed and, suddenly, he was across the room. Rebekah looked alarmed but easily moved to fend him off. What shocked her was when he ignored her attempts at doing so and threw her across the room with unnatural strength.

Rebekah screamed, the spell of his beauty broken, as she slammed into the wall and fell to the ground in a broken heap. "Stop it!" E.J. screamed. She leapt up and began digging in her wardrobe for her box. Maybe it had something in it to help her! This could not be happening! Rebekah was an Original! How the hell could this strange boy hurt her so easily?!

She heaved her wardrobe up and leaned it up against the wall. She realized instantly that her box was not inside and frantically began searching the room. It was nowhere in sight and she dove under the bed to check there.

The boy had not moved since throwing Rebekah, his eyes trained on E.J. "What are you looking for?" he asked mildly. Now his voice sounded like the purring of a cat, and E.J. cursed that mental image. This boy was anything but a harmless kitten!

"Something!" she snapped back.

The boy sighed and turned back to Rebekah. "Now, where were we?" he asked in a voice that set Rebekah's teeth to chattering. She didn't know why, but this boy utterly terrified her.

He was kneeling beside her in that next instant, and Rebekah couldn't remember having seen him move. "You won't feel a thing, love," he said quietly as his whole being began to pulse with white-hot heat that seared Rebekah's skin.

"I can't find it!" E.J. suddenly shrieked, making the boy break his concentration. The girl was standing in the middle of the room, panting and clenching her fists. "Where the hell is my box, you bastard?!" she screamed at the boy.

The boy cocked his head and smiled at her, and, despite herself, E.J.'s knees went weak once more. "Standing right before you, darling," he purred mockingly. E.J. stared at him in confusion until he disappeared.

No smoke. No lightning. No blast of wind to indicate speeding. One moment he was there, the next he wasn't. Vanished into thin air. E.J. wouldn't have believed it if she hadn't seen it herself.

It took a few seconds for the spell over her to break as she ran over to her mother. "Who the hell _was _that?!" the girl cried as she struggled to help Rebekah sit up.

Rebekah stared at her with wide, wild eyes. "If that was who I think it was," she whimpered, "then he is our worst nightmare."

**AN: Last chapter's ending was dramatic, and this one's was ominous. Yay! Next chapter we will see more of this mysterious "He" that you still don't know the name of! Tune in for the next chapter to find out more about him. I have created a lot of OC's in all my writings, but he is quite possibly my favorite! P.S. If I receive my seven reviews and suddenly go on a writing spree, I might update before Monday. Thanks for reading!**


	13. Chapter 13

**To **_**JennyMikaelson**_**: Thanks for sharing your thoughts with me again! I didn't think about researching myths until after I created him, and I wasn't really sure where to look after I'd already decided on his character. And then I wanted to incorporate Norse mythology (for the Originals), but I found nothing there. So I had to make something up. Haha, yeah, those Originals are protective, aren't they? Stefan was right to be afraid. As to the rest, I have no idea. I guess we both have to wait and see!**

**To **_**chathg14**_**: Thanks for reviewing again! I'm still developing the Stefan-E.J. relationship, and I can promise you there will be plenty more moments between them. E.J. can be pretty cute when she wants to be. **

**To **_**nessafly**_**: I can see where you got that idea, but he is not an angel. I know, isn't it so cute?! Now I can do lots of uncle-niece fluff! I'm eager to write family moments, but I have a plot to write, too. *sighs* The mystery guy will really be explored in the second story of this series. You'll learn some things about him in this one, but **_**For the Love of a Daughter**_** is meant to focus mostly on E.J. and her relevance to this world. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with me!**

**To **_** .37**_**: Welcome to my story! Thank you, I pride myself on being original. I take inspiration from a lot of things, but I try to twist it in such a way that it's completely my own. I'm excited to introduce you to him! He quite possibly has the most depth of any character I've ever written.**

**To **_**kadienewberg**_**: I love writing cute-E.J. She's so much fun! As to your guess: Who? Heehee! I've never seen the fourth season (don't have the channel it's on, can't find it online, and it's not out on DVD yet). I couldn't write anything from it accurately. So, no. I can tell you this: He is way, way, **_**way**_** too old to be Silas's son. But he is extremely powerful. I just want to tell you, but I don't want to spoil it! More cute-E.J. coming, I promise! Thanks for reviewing again!**

**To**_** crazygurl**_**: I would have updated sooner, but I didn't get as much done on this as I'd hoped. No love triangle with family! I don't like 'em, don't do 'em, and sometimes downright hate them. I do love love triangles, just not when they pit family against family. Tatia might get involved with one of them (I can't say for sure), but not both of them. Thanks for telling me your thoughts!**

**To **_**Marauders12345**_**: You know what's really funny? Klaus doesn't know yet. Heehee. He will not be happy, that's for sure. My new OC won't destroy Mystic Falls like Misao and Shinichi did. (Or will he? O.0) You'll have to read on to find out just who he is! I can confirm Damon will find out in Chapter 15. It is very weird imagining that, right? Will Damon react like Elijah, Klaus, Finn, or Kol? Or like none of them? Thanks for sharing your thoughts with me!**

**To **_**dreamer**_**: Thanks for reviewing! Kol is extremely fun to write, that's for sure. Suspense and cliffhangers are the ways that we authors keep you lovely people reading. **** Tatia and the others will appear soon! More about who they are and their connections to "Him" will be in upcoming chapters. I've got a cliffhanger to rectify in this one!**

**AN: Beware, a rant is coming on. I am **_**so**_** mad at Alloy Publishing and Aubrey Clark! They wrecked one of my favorite novel series! I don't know if you guys realize this, but L.J. Smith only wrote books 1-7. The publishing company fired her and hired a "ghostwriter" because of a pivotal plot twist in book 8 they didn't like. First off, Damon's character is destroyed, the antagonist seems anticlimactic, and something dreadful happens to a beloved character that seems to be glossed over. I don't know if any of you have gotten the newest book yet, but it's nothing like L.J. Smith's stories. (I haven't actually finished it yet, I got this all from reviews.) I think I need to go back and read the first four to calm myself down.**

** Anyway, enough about that! You all don't want to read my ranting and raving. As promised, here is your newest chapter! I think I can promise to update Tuesday if I get eight plus reviews. Any less and I will update as soon as I feel I can. Read on to find out just what Rebekah knows!**

_Previously . . ._

_E.J. rolled her eyes, although Elena noticed that she was smiling, as she trotted over to Rebekah and Finn. "Oh my gosh!" the girl suddenly shrieked, freezing with a foot in the air. "MY BOX!" And then she was gone from the room, and Stefan was reaching up to rub his throbbing eardrum._

_ E.J. shoved past a just entering Elijah on her way out, hollering over her shoulder, "Sorry, Uncle Lijah!"_

_ "I will never get used to that," the eldest Original muttered._

_The boy had not moved since throwing Rebekah, his eyes trained on E.J. "What are you looking for?" he asked mildly. Now his voice sounded like the purring of a cat, and E.J. cursed that mental image. This boy was anything but a harmless kitten!_

_ "Something!" she snapped back._

_ The boy sighed and turned back to Rebekah. "Now, where were we?" he asked in a voice that set Rebekah's teeth to chattering. She didn't know why, but this boy utterly terrified her._

_ He was kneeling beside her in that next instant, and Rebekah couldn't remember having seen him move. "You won't feel a thing, love," he said quietly as his whole being began to pulse with white-hot heat that seared Rebekah's skin._

_ "I can't find it!" E.J. suddenly shrieked, making the boy break his concentration. The girl was standing in the middle of the room, panting and clenching her fists. "Where the hell is my box, you bastard?!" she screamed at the boy._

_ The boy cocked his head and smiled at her, and, despite herself, E.J.'s knees went weak once more. "Standing right before you, darling," he purred mockingly. E.J. stared at him in confusion until he disappeared._

_ No smoke. No lightning. No blast of wind to indicate speeding. One moment he was there, the next he wasn't. Vanished into thin air. E.J. wouldn't have believed it if she hadn't seen it herself._

_ It took a few seconds for the spell over her to break as she ran over to her mother. "Who the hell was that?!" the girl cried as she struggled to help Rebekah sit up._

_ Rebekah stared at her with wide, wild eyes. "If that was who I think it was," she whimpered, "then he is our worst nightmare."_

"Well, that was weird," Elena laughed as she took her boyfriend by the arm and squeezed. Maybe she was trying to make him feel better, maybe she felt bad about her earlier "jealousy," or maybe she needed the comfort as much as he did. Whatever the reason, Stefan was grateful for her support.

"Yeah," he mumbled as he dug his phone out of his pocket. He had put it on silent so that Damon couldn't pester him while he was at Elena's, but now he was worried about said brother. Whatever that thing had been, it had taken down Rebekah, and could easily take down his brother.

He turned his phone on and groaned when he realized that he had eleven missed calls. Eight from his brother and three from . . . Bonnie? That was weird. Why would Bonnie call him?

He called his brother back and impatiently waited for him to pick up. He had a pretty good idea of why Damon was so desperately trying to reach him, since every single one had been made after the initial "thing."

The other end picked up on the fifth ring. "_Stefan, what the hell?!"_ the voice of his angry brother screamed. "_I've been calling you for nearly forty-five minutes! I've been worried sick!"_

Stefan's cold, dead heart warmed at those words. He knew it was weird since he was getting yelled at, but his brother had just indirectly told him he loved him. The two brothers had ways of doing that. It might not be the healthiest relationship, but it was good enough for them.

"I'm okay, Damon," Stefan assured his brother once he could get a word in. "A little shook up maybe, but I'm still in one piece. You still at the house?"

"_Hell, no!"_ his brother answered. "_I tracked you to Elena's house and me and Bonnie busted down the door all ready to save you. And you were—wait, say it with me—gone, you little brat! What was I supposed to think then, huh?!"_

"I'm sorry, Damon," Stefan muttered into his phone. He hadn't heard his brother this angry in a long, _long_ time. Damon hadn't exactly been too keen on lecturing him while giving him an "eternity of misery." Which, by the way, he had succeeded at doing quite nicely.

"_Damn right, you're gonna be!"_ Damon snarled. "_With this freaky 'He' back on the loose that Bonnie keeps bleeping out and talking about, we've gotta be more careful!"_

As far as Stefan was concerned, his brother's words made about as much sense as his trigonometry class. "Huh?" was all he could muster to say.

"_Never mind, I'm at the door!"_ That statement surprised Stefan, who pulled his phone away from his ear and jumped when he heard a pounding at the front door.

"I think that's for you," Finn spoke up from his place on the couch. He hadn't moved since his conversation with Rebekah, which was fine with Stefan. He'd rather have the ultra-powerful Originals where he could see them, thank you very much. He and Elena had only just been introduced—by a very uninterested Kol—and now Stefan was a little wary. He didn't like the gleam in the Original's eyes as he said those words.

"It's your door," Stefan shot back. He knew that comeback was immature, but he didn't care.

He groaned out loud when he heard the sounds of the door being opened. "This is a bit unexpected, Damon." Elijah's voice. Stefan had completely forgotten about him. "I do hope that you're not here to try to force young E—"

"Where's Stefan?" Stefan heard Damon demand with a snarl. He groaned again and slapped his forehead. Only Damon would snarl at an Original like that. Sometimes Stefan swore his brother was suicidal.

Then, the next thing he knew, Damon was in front of him and he'd been clocked in the jaw. Stefan stumbled backward and glared up at his brother. "What the hell was that for?" Stefan demanded, even though speaking hurt his now throbbing jaw.

Damon only glared at him until, quite to both of their shock, he grabbed his younger brother and crushed him in a hug. Stefan's arms wrapped around his brother's waist on instinct and he buried his face into Damon's shoulder. The whole stress of the last hour came down on him in that moment and he was thankful his brother was there.

Damon began petting his hair hard, looking in danger of losing a few tears. Elena stared at Damon with wide eyes, but she also couldn't hide a smile. She knew Stefan was still reeling from the shock of finding out he had a daughter—heck, _Elena_ still didn't quite believe it—and he needed this. She had never before seen Damon cry, and she really didn't think she ever would.

"Because you deserved it, brat," Damon finally muttered in answer to his brother's question, still petting his brother's hair. He wasn't gentle about that or about his hug, but Stefan didn't care. A few broken ribs wouldn't last all that long, anyway.

Small footsteps entered the parlor and Elena turned to find Bonnie. At seeing her friend's haunted expression, Elena immediately moved to engulf her in a hug, holding her close and rubbing up and down her back. "I had a vision, Lena," Bonnie spoke in a soft, nearly inaudible voice. She sounded as if she was running on her last bit of energy. "And it came true."

"What are you talking about?" Stefan had finally pulled away from his brother and was now blinking at Bonnie. His eyes were misted-over from nearly crying and hazy from being pressed against his brother's shoulder. Neither Salvatore brother had cried, but that didn't matter.

"Don't know exactly," Damon answered, releasing Stefan completely and stepping away. In the heat of the moment, Damon had acted upon instinct, and now he was feeling awkward. He hadn't hugged his brother since before their transitions and . . . he missed it. He could tell Stefan had needed it, too.

Stefan turned his attention to his brother. Unlike Damon, he wasn't embarrassed—so to speak—but he did feel a little awkward. It felt good to be held, and he missed it terribly. Maybe he wouldn't feel this way if they had been in private? "What is she talking about?" he asked, quickly trying to smooth out his embarrassment.

Damon smirked at him, and Stefan knew that they were back to the way they had been before. _Baby steps, Stefan_, he told himself.

"As that whole freak thing happened," Damon began his explanation, "Bonnie had a vision. Well, actually, it was more like she was possessed, and she said 'He is back.' Now Bonnie is freaking out about whoever this 'he' is, and she won't listen to reason."

Stefan quirked an eyebrow. "Won't listen to reason or won't listen to you?"

"Same thing!" Damon snarled. "And you're grounded for scaring me like that!" Stefan gave his brother a disbelieving look. "What, you think I'm kidding?"

"No," Stefan mumbled. "I'm shocked because you're not."

"You're grounded, mister," Damon repeated as if he thought Stefan hadn't heard him the first time, thrusting his finger in his younger brother's face. "Until further notice!"

"Uh huh," Stefan mumbled. He figured he could humor his brother for now and find a way around it later. He had bigger things to worry about. "E.J.'s been up there a while."

"Rebekah went to check on her," Elijah spoke up from his place beside the wet bar across the room. "I'm sure she is fine."

Stefan muttered something under his breath and marched out of the parlor. Before he could ascend the staircase, two sets of feet came running from upstairs and E.J. and Rebekah stampeded down the stairs. "Elijah!" Rebekah screamed, sounding half out of her mind with fear. E.J. was following a few feet behind, looking worried but not scared stiff.

Elijah burst from the parlor and stumbled toward his sister. That amused Stefan, since the Original almost never stumbled. "Rebekah?" was all Elijah could get out before his sister had launched herself into his arms. "Rebekah, honey, what's wrong?" he asked softly, cradling her in his arms.

"It's horrible, Lijah!" Rebekah sobbed, clinging to her brother's suit jacket. "All the stories Mama told us were true! They're all true!"

Niklaus and Finn appeared in the doorway. Niklaus looked more amused than worried, and Finn just looked bewildered. Kol still had yet to move from his place in the armchair. "High score!" could be heard from within the parlor.

"What are you talking about, love?" Niklaus asked softly. His sister was so rarely vulnerable, that he felt his dormant protective brotherly instincts awakening.

Rebekah slowly pulled away from Elijah and stared at her other two brothers. "He's real," she hiccupped. "And he's going to kill us all."

"Who the hell are you talking about?" Damon demanded as he shoved his way out of the parlor, Stefan at his heels. Elena and Bonnie followed at a distance, and Bonnie had paled even more.

"Rebekah," Elijah soothed, "whatever happened upstairs, it just scared you."

At the same time, Finn asked, "Who?"

Rebekah focused her attention on Finn. "_Djöfullin Veiðimaður_."

The temperature in the room seemed to literally drop and the three other Originals looked torn between horror and concern. Kol appeared in the doorway, having heard the name, and shot Rebekah a look that could terrify anyone: a look of fear.

Elijah was the first to recover from his shock. "_Djöfullin Veiðimaður_ is not real, Rebekah." He tried to take her back into his arms, but she fought him off. "That is just a legend Mother told us as children," he continued.

"I saw him," she said in a weak, hoarse voice. "I spoke with him. I _fought_ him! I didn't even stand a chance, Lijah!" she sobbed. "He could've killed me so easily!"

"She's telling the truth." All heads jerked up to stare at E.J., who shifted uncomfortably. "Um, I think. All I know is that there was a strange boy in my room when I went up to look for my box. He took Rebekah down easily, and it kinda freaked her out. Hell, it freaked _me_ out."

"We are all going to die!" Rebekah sobbed, tearing away from Elijah and bolting up the stairs, taking them two at a time. Her four older brothers jumped when her door slammed shut and they could hear its locking from downstairs.

Bonnie froze and her eyes glazed over silver. "He is here," she spoke in the voices of many. "And He wants revenge."

Caroline's world had been one mass of pain for what felt like an eternity but was in reality less than an hour. She now sat hunched over in her kitchen, at a small breakfast table, breathing heavily. Feeling like an idiot and a weakling, Caroline whimpered as she pounded her fist on the table, her face buried in the crook of her elbow. The light still hurt her eyes.

Why her? Really, what had she done to deserve this? She'd been a good girl for most of her life. There had been that time during her parents' divorce that she had become an angry, disagreeable person and she had gotten in more fights then than in the rest of her life combined. But was that enough to cause her this much stress and pain?

She felt a presence behind her and she stiffened. Normally, her first instinct was to whirl around and attack whoever sneaked up on her that she did not recognize the presence of, but something stopped her.

This presence was overwhelmingly powerful. Not in the sense that she felt terrified or pathetically weak, but more like she knew she couldn't fight whoever was standing beside her. She felt a small, slender hand press against her cheek, and she stiffened. The hand was unnaturally warm, but not as if the person were feverish. It felt like when she lay on the beach on a hot summer day: like the sun's rays, basically.

She still hadn't looked up, but she was beginning to calm down. The presence was not malevolent, but actually soothing. She did not really feel afraid or threatened, even though she could still sense the great power wafting from this individual.

"Hello, Caroline," a gentle voice said. The voice flowed through her and over her, calming her further. It was almost melodic, like a lullaby or love poem.

Finally, she lifted her head up and glanced up at her visitor. For a moment, she could not process what she was seeing and simply stared up at him.

He was so stunningly, breathtakingly beautiful, that Caroline was at a loss for words, something very unusual for the normally bubbly blonde. His gold-blonde-tan hair seemed to glow around his head like a halo and his porcelain skin literally glowed, giving his entire body a shimmer about it that almost hurt Caroline's sensitive eyes.

But what caught her and reeled her in was his eyes. They were the bluest blue eyes that she had ever seen. She had always thought Matt's eyes were true blue, but this boy's eyes made his seem dull. They pierced through her like shards of ice, chilling and warming her at the same time. Caroline quivered, knowing without a shadow of a doubt that the boy before her was no ordinary boy.

"The normal polite response would be to return the greeting, young one," the boy chuckled. Now he sounded like a purring kitten, and it really threw Caroline off. Should she melt on the spot and ask for his number (did gods have numbers?) or shrink into a tiny little ball and wait for him to just go away?

Caroline suddenly felt herself being lifted from her seat and she was soon face-to-face with the strange boy. He stood just under her eyelevel, short enough that she had to look down her nose at him with his being so near but tall enough that he could look her in the eye. He had a tight grip on her forearms and, no matter how much she squirmed, she could not break it.

The boy's eyes pierced her and, if it was even possible, his eyes grew bluer. Caroline sucked in a breath and squeezed her eyes shut, willing him to go away.

"I have a message for your friends," the boy purred. His voice had taken on a steely edge that made Caroline think of a double-edged sword. His words pierced through her and she hissed in pain. It was almost as if he could radiate feelings on another plane that affected Caroline in another part of herself.

And then she got it. "It was you!" she gasped, her shock finally allowing her to speak, her eyes flying open. The boy quirked a pale-blonde eyebrow, but Caroline was on a roll now. "You caused that power surge that happened earlier!"

The boy only smiled. "Tell your friends that Mshiagi is here, and he wants the witch." As he spoke, he pressed a piece of paper into Caroline's trembling hand. He had to release one of her forearms to do so, and Caroline stole the opportunity to try to struggle away from him.

She suddenly found herself across the room and pinned against the wall by her throat. She gasped and blinked down in fear at the boy. His smile was gone, and his eyes had taken on a dangerous edge. The blue now appeared to be swarming with gray, making it appear that a storm was brewing within them.

"They will never give you Bonnie!" she squeaked, shoving the paper into her back pocket. Whatever it was must be important.

The boy stared up at her for a moment before chuckling, revealing a blindingly white smile. "I believe they will," he chuckled again. "Because, if they don't," his voice now sounded like contagious laughter even though he wasn't laughing, "then I will kill you."

The words seemed to break whatever spell the boy had over Caroline and she gasped. She glared down at him, her lips quivering. "You want me to deliver a message," she snapped, "but part of ensuring it will be followed through with is threatening me but you're not taking me prisoner or anything? That's really stupid!"

The boy's laugh took on a darker edge, and Caroline now felt as if she had stepped off the edge of a deep trench in the ocean and was plunging into the netherworld below. How on earth could this boy invoke such pictures in her head?

"I do not have to be near you to harm you, child," he purred. "Not even to take your pathetic life."

Before she could respond, a blinding pain ripped through Caroline's body and she felt as if somebody was trying to rip out her very life essence from within her. The pain was unbelievable, and white dots spotted Caroline's vision as she gasped, raking in oxygen even though she didn't need it.

As suddenly as the pain had begun, it subsided. Caroline was now a trembling, sobbing mess on the floor. She could still sense the boy's presence, but she was too overcome with humiliation and genuine, heart-wrenching terror to care.

"Who are you?!" she gasped out, fat tears now rolling down her cheeks. She felt unnaturally warm, strong hands cupping her face and tilting it upwards. Soft, equally warm lips pressed against her cold forehead and she sobbed harder.

She felt herself being pulled into an unwanted embrace, but she was too weak to fight as the boy held her against his chest and smoothed her messy, sweaty hair out of her face. "The Devil Hunter," the boy informed her as an answer.

Caroline felt slender fingers gripping her chin and tilting it up. She blinked her eyes open and stared up at the boy. "And you, my precious little Caroline," the boy purred mockingly, his voice now like that of a gentle summer breeze, "are a devil."

He kissed her again and Caroline broke down into sobs, burying her burning face in his lap.

Caroline did not notice when a third presence joined them, but the boy did. He did not look up as he continued to stroke Caroline's hair.

"Do you enjoy tormenting poor souls, Mshiagi?" a cold female voice demanded. She stood in the middle of Caroline's kitchen, looking forbidding.

Mshiagi chuckled and finally turned his head to face the woman. "What the hell do you want, Pandora?" he growled, beginning to pet Caroline's hair a little harder.

The woman was tall and dressed in a long midnight-blue robe with large sleeves. Underneath she wore a lighter blue shift that fell to her knees and hugged her figure nicely. Her skin was the color of coffee and her hair was so dark it was nearly black, her eyes large black oval-shaped disks.

She was as beautiful as the boy, but in a different way. Her lips curled seductively into a smile, her eyebrows arched in a playful way. An otherworldly aura hung about her that made her seem even more mysterious than the boy. Her thick hair fell well past her shoulders and in curtains around herself.

"I wanted to see you," she answered quietly, sounding hurt at the boy's harsh tone.

Mshiagi shifted Caroline into his arms so that he could lift her as he stood. He glared at Pandora as he shifted through the Other Side to pass quickly into Caroline's room. He laid the girl in her bed and smoothed back her hair.

Before he could make a break for it, the mysterious presence behind him returned and he blew out an agitated breath. He felt a hand on his shoulder and then Pandora was turning him around.

Mshiagi did not resist as she pulled him to herself and planted a kiss within his curly locks, but he made no attempt to return the embrace. Pandora sighed and pushed him away once more, lifting a delicate, long-fingered hand to smooth his uncontrollable locks out of his face.

"Are you well?" she asked, her voice laced with concern.

Mshiagi's blue eyes were filled with annoyance as he glared up at her. "I'm fine," he snarled, and his voice filled Pandora with the image of a tiger.

"I've always loved that trick of yours, Mshiagi," Pandora sighed proudly.

Mshiagi glared at her and turned, disappearing without a trace. Pandora stood watching where he had disappeared, heartbroken. Would he never forgive her?

She gently reached out a hand and touched Caroline, and the girl's weeping promptly stopped. The girl soon fell into a deep sleep and Pandora sighed.

"Sleep, child," she said gently. "Deliver the boy's message, and do not delay. He is vengeful."

Pandora's eyes narrowed in determination. "And I will have to fix that, I see," she said to no one in particular before phasing back to the Other Side.

**AN: No translation given to keep you all in suspense. I wonder if anybody figured out what it means from other information given in the story? What is going to happen to poor Caroline? Why was Rebekah so terrified? Who is Mshiagi and why does he want revenge? What does Pandora have to do with it all? Tune in for the next chapter to find out! (Wow, I sound like I'm on TV. Score! Cross that off the bucket list!)**


	14. Chapter 14

**To **_**JennyMikaelson**_**: Thank you for reviewing! I haven't updated sooner because I was hoping to finish Chapter 16 before posting this . . . . And then I decided to post this anyway. I won't say if Mshiagi did or didn't date Pandora. Chapters 15 and 16 should enlighten the ties between these two. I haven't gotten much of a chance to do Stefan-Damon, since it's hard to find circumstances where it's plausible. You gotta love Kol!**

**To **_**kadienewberg**_**: Thank you! Actually, it wasn't intended, but Mshiagi ("He") and Caroline together might actually be amusing. I have somebody different in mind for him, though. Yay brother moments! Those silly boys and their aversion to affection make it difficult for me to find places to use it. Poor E.J.! The poor girl must be so confused.**

**To **_**belladu57**_**: Thank you!**

**AN: Even though I only got three reviews for the last chapter, I still appreciate every single one of them! No more promises, I'm sorry. College is coming up in two days (yikes!) and I can no longer guarantee updates. Your reviews spur me on to write, so please do! Really, I'm losing the drive for this story. Not the inspiration, but I'm not spitting out chapters like I was before. Please feed the starving author! This chapter is focused on Mshiagi ("He," for those of you who hadn't figured out that was his name yet) and his little group. P.S. It's pronounced mih-shee-AH-gee. I hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: In this chapter, I own Mshiagi, Mabel, Evangeline, Sven, Gerald, and the Other Place (the name not the concept). I also own the idea and the general plot, and I trust you all to take inspiration only. I do not own anything else, including Tatia.**

Being trapped in the form of a box for sixty-five years could give one a serious backache, Mshiagi was discovering. He winced as he cracked his back for what felt like the hundredth time and stared up at the blue sky above him. He had not seen the sky for so long: he missed it. He had been able to see in his box form, but the girl had usually kept him somewhere dark and secluded. But even when he had gotten the chance, seeing it now did not compare to seeing it then.

He found himself wandering the streets of Mystic Falls curiously, oblivious to the stares he was receiving. Mshiagi did not know of the effect his mere appearance had on people, and really could never understand why women stared at him like they did. Yes, he did use mirrors from time to time, but he was a guy. A very old, very powerful one, but still a guy nonetheless. He really could not see what it was about himself that females found so attractive.

His thoughts wandered back to E.J., and he shivered. Now she was a beauty. So young and so innocent, and yet so deliciously pretty. Most would not believe that the Devil Hunter could be attracted to the opposite sex, but those who would think that really did not know what they were talking about.

His thoughts on the girl abruptly stopped when he remembered _them_, and his heart clenched. No, he could never love again. Love hurt and it never worked out for those he loved. He would not subject another innocent soul to a fate as the others had suffered.

"Master?" At the small, timid voice behind him, Mshiagi turned and his countenance immediately lifted when he faced the speaker. He would know her voice, and her presence, anywhere, but it had been so long that he could not be certain until he saw her face.

Tatia smiled at him, looking on the verge of tears. "We have looked everywhere for you," she told him softly. "Where have you been?"

Instead of answering, Mshiagi flashed forward and gathered the girl into his arms. "Are you well, princess?" he murmured to her as he stroked her hair.

Tatia laughed as she cuddled into his hold, reveling in the warmth that he gave off. No person on earth had an aura quite like her master's, one so warm and comforting. Mshiagi was a threat only to those tainted with the Dark, and that fact alone had made history remember him as a killer, a hunter, when that was not what he was.

"You never answered my question," she murmured into his shoulder. She was a few inches shorter than the boy, but, with her heels on, they were the same height. Mshiagi was not a tall fifteen-year-old, but that did not matter, Tatia knew. When being so near to him, she could feel the power throbbing within him and it made her shiver. It was so easy to forget how powerful her master was until he touched her, and then she would remember.

"In brief," Mshiagi replied, finally pulling away to look her in the eye, "I was turned into a box, and my presence no longer sent out beacons to you all."

Tatia stared at him, not quite sure if she believed him or not. "What?" she finally managed to ask. The boy cracked a smile and, instead of elaborating, took her by the arm and led her down the street.

"Where are the others?" he asked after a beat of silence. Having been off the radar for sixty-five years, he knew very well that his children had most likely dwindled in number. The thought saddened him, but he knew that their lot in life was much shorter than his.

"We are currently residing in a small motel in a town a few miles away from here," Tatia replied, trotting along beside him obediently. "Did you know that Mystic Falls does not have proper accommodations for visitors?"

Mshiagi chuckled. "No, I did not, princess."

Tatia huffed. "Really! Is it not considered common courtesy to put travelers up anymore? Where did the age of chivalry go anyway?"

Mshiagi quirked an eyebrow up at the question. "I believe it disappeared with the Dark Ages, my dear. Need I remind you of _why_ it is termed thus?" Although he could not see her, he knew that Tatia was pouting at him.

"Come, come, child," Mshiagi scolded lightly. "Do not behave thus. We must find ourselves better accommodations, no?" Tatia nodded eagerly, and Mshiagi sensed the movement.

"Once I make sure you and the others are settled in," the boy continued, "then I have some business to attend to."

Tatia scrunched her nose up. "Sir?"

Mshiagi's face had hardened, his grip on her elbow becoming unbreakable, and his normally calm aura had darkened considerably. Tatia withheld a whimper, her hand trembling as she reached up to run it through her short, spiked hair.

"Never you mind, young one," Mshiagi finally explained, his tone steely. An image of an immovable boulder came to Tatia's mind and she withheld a frown. It would not do well to upset her master when he was this angry.

"You have more important things to deal with," he finished, phasing to the Other Side with Tatia in tow to quickly move to his remaining protégés.

The reunion between Mshiagi and his remaining children was brief and to the point. Guardians were unemotional creatures by nature, and none of them were apt to act upon their feelings.

Mabel greeted Mshiagi stiffly, looking torn between relief and utter terror. Tatia could not blame the child. Although good in theory, Mshiagi had a hardness and a vibe about him that set people on edge. It probably did not help that Mshiagi went on to lecture Mabel on how she had allowed the power gap to become so wide. The girl's lips remained tight as she was railed on, and she never once raised her eyes from the floor.

Evangeline finally came to her sister's rescue and interrupted Mshiagi mid-lecture. Even with her being one of his own, it was a risky move on her part and Mshiagi's endless blue eyes sliced right through her. "What?" he snarled. Evangeline decided to back off at that point.

Sven and Gerald were both smacked on the back of the head and ordered to take the luggage outside. The two men looked whipped and confused as they did as they were told. Evangeline might have giggled at the sight, if it weren't for how odd the order had been.

"We are moving," Mshiagi said simply. He was not one to let his followers in on his plans, and this was clearly one of those times. Evangeline resigned herself to cryptic responses and bizarre orders for quite some time. She was relieved to have her master back, but she was also already weary of his oddness.

Taking shortcuts through the Other Side had never been pleasant for any of the Guardians. They still did not know how Mshiagi could phase between the planes, but they had learned to grin and bear it. When Mshiagi gave an order, it was not disobeyed.

"Why are we here, Master?" Tatia asked upon their exit. Evangeline immediately took off into the surrounding forest to retch, for she insisted that plane-traveling upset her stomach. Mabel stepped up beside Tatia and took her hand, making the elder woman smile, and glared over her shoulder in her sister's direction. Sven and Gerald stood there awkwardly, holding the luggage. Thankfully, the Guardians knew how to pack light.

"This is our new residence!" Mshiagi informed her brightly. "Do you like it?" Tatia stared at him. "I always have loved this era of architecture." He continued to babble to himself as he ascended the creaky porch steps and marched right through the door. Tatia had an uneasy feeling in her stomach as she followed after him, towing Mabel behind her.

Stepping inside was like stepping back in time. The grandeur of their new residence surprised Tatia and she led Mabel as she explored the house. Sven and Gerald stepped in after them and were already arguing over who should take the suitcases upstairs. Sven seemed to think that because he was older, Gerald should do it. Gerald seemed to think that Sven should do it because . . . . Actually, from what Tatia could hear, the youngest Guardian did not appear to have a reason.

"You might have been alive longer," Gerald protested, "but I'm older! You were turned when you were twenty-nine and I was thirty-eight. So, ha!"

Sven rolled his eyes and stomped up the stairs, holding only his own burden. Gerald seemed to accept the compromise, but yet still felt the need to grumble to himself as he marched up after him.

Mshiagi had disappeared, and Tatia wondered briefly if she should be worried. Her master certainly did not need a babysitter, but he was not exactly in his right mind. She sometimes wondered if living for so long had caused him to lose more brain cells than a person with a normal lifespan. It was certainly a plausible theory, but not one she would ever bring up.

She was interrupted in her thoughts by Evangeline stomping over the doorsill, looking pale but all over well considering she had just regurgitated her lunch. Mabel patted the space beside her, and Evangeline promptly plopped down and cuddled into her twin's side.

"I hate shortcuts," Evangeline mumbled into her sister's hair.

"I know, darling," Mabel soothed, running slender fingers through her sister's hair.

Tatia gazed around the first floor once more, wondering to herself just what this place was called. "Evangeline, where are we?" she asked. Evangeline had an aptitude for reading latitude and longitude and could usually tell exactly where they were at any given time. Somehow, she could even get as specific as the name of the building they were standing in.

"It is called the Salvatore Boarding House," Evangeline mumbled, barely audible. "And it's occupied by"—she jerked up and stared wide-eyed at her sister and her friend—"vampires."

Tatia groaned and fell back against the couch. She muttered under her breath, "Oh, joy."

The trail was a faint one, but Mshiagi was able to follow it as if blaring white arrows were lighting the way. His gaze wandered as he trotted down the stone steps, hand trailing against the stone wall to his left. "The cellar to the old Lockwood mansion," he murmured to himself as he continued deeper underground. "I am quite amazed it is still standing."

Without any preamble, Mshiagi blasted the wall directly to his left to rubble. He did not move or even flinch as it crumbled around him, pieces tumbling to the ground for a few seconds after the initial collapse. If another person had been standing a few feet away watching, he would have seen Mshiagi standing there and then the wall just spontaneously combusting itself. No one would have ever known the strange boy who looked like he was glowing from the inside out was responsible for the destruction.

Mshiagi stepped into the tunnel behind the wall and moved further into the depths of the underground. He could have taken more time to locate the original break, but he was not a patient person and it seemed just as easy to make a new pathway. It followed the same way until it met up with the original pathway and he smoothly moved onto it.

He picked his way over fallen rubble and loose stone without once looking at his feet. His gaze remained trained ahead as he neared his destination.

Abruptly, he reached a turn in the tunnel and came upon a small cavelet. He hurried up to it eagerly and peered inside. Sure enough, he could see his objective. He carried no flashlight but saw on the light that his body gave off alone. He could tone it down if necessary, or he could crank it up on high, which is exactly what he had done.

He could sense a barrier barring his way into the cavelet, but the power behind it was minimal compared to his and it vaporized when he stepped into the cavelet. He could hear screams resonating from the Other Side, and he smirked at what was probably the generator of the barrier. He took the few steps necessary to reach the coffin before him and giggled madly as he grasped it under the lid.

The resistance was far too much to be natural, and Mshiagi realized with a start that the coffin was enchanted. He had to close his eyes and focus, but he soon could sense the spell blanketing the coffin and keeping it sealed shut. He smirked as his eyes grew larger and bluer and his body began to pulse with his inner power. The spell around the coffin that was now clearly visible to him shuddered for a moment before breaking into millions of tiny little pieces.

Mshiagi triumphantly stepped forward and easily raised the lid of the coffin. He smiled down at its occupant and shook his head, _tsking_ under his breath. He stood there patiently for several minutes, watching the figure in the coffin.

Finally, after nearly fifteen minutes, the woman gasped and sat upright, looking around herself wildly. When she saw Mshiagi, she screamed in terror and dove back down into the coffin as if she thought that would protect her.

"Come now, Esther," Mshiagi admonished, reaching in to forcibly remove the witch from her prison. "No need to act thus."

Esther thrashed and sobbed as she was manhandled, collapsing to her knees once she was released and putting her head low to the ground. "What do you want with me?!" she demanded between sobs, looking at her scuffed up and grimy hands instead of the boy standing above her.

Mshiagi sighed as he knelt down and leaned down to plant a kiss atop the woman's hair. The sobbing immediately stopped and Esther stared up at him, eyes wide and wet. His presence was so calming and his appearance so beautiful that Esther found herself relaxing as she lay on the cold, hard ground and lay her head near the boy's feet.

"There, there now, love," the boy purred mockingly as he turned gleaming eyes on the coffin behind them. "Do not go to sleep yet. I have yet to bring our companion."

Esther shuddered as Mshiagi spoke a single word, a word which traveled deep into the Other Side and compelled the ghost there to come. The wait was only a few seconds before a man suddenly appeared beside Mshiagi, looking agitated and confused, glaring at the boy.

Esther's head shot up and she stared. "Mikael?" she breathed in disbelief. The man abruptly tore his gaze from the boy and fell on his knees beside his wife, eyes wide with shock.

"Esther?" he finally managed to garble out. "What—? How are you—? You were dead!"

Esther smiled sadly. "Ayanna preserved my body," was all she said. Mikael might have said something if he hadn't been interrupted.

"Sorry to interrupt the happy reunion," Mshiagi piped up irritatingly brightly, "but I have a task for you both and I expect it to be done well." Mikael slowly tore his gaze away from his wife and stared up at the boy. All he wanted to do was hold Esther, but this child was not allowing him to.

Mshiagi met his fiery gaze and Mikael found himself falling deep into his endless blue eyes. "There is a girl I must protect," the boy began in a low, captivating voice that made Mikael think of a starlit night, "and your children are in the way. I want them removed from the picture."

Esther's expression became solemn. "I created evil," she said evenly, "and now I must destroy it—"

"Oh no, no, my dear," Mshiagi interrupted, "you misunderstand me. I do not want them _dead_ I simply want them _occupied elsewhere_. Understood? Okay? You and your husband are to keep those silly Originals occupied so that I can remove the girl without having to kill any of them."

Esther's eyes darkened. "And why do you not want to kill them?" she growled.

Mshiagi quirked a pale-blonde eyebrow at her and giggled. "As you kids say nowadays," he quipped, "none of your business. _Au revoir_, devil spawn!"

With a wave of his hand, Mshiagi sent the two hurtling through the Other Side until they crashed back into the world of the Living on the front lawn of an enormous mansion.

Mikael groaned as he sat up and stared up at the mansion. "If that little pest thinks I am going to participate in this," he growled, "he is out of his mind." The last thing Mikael could remember was being staked by his least favorite son—who was actually not his son. Then all he had known was wandering in absolute solitude and how much he hated it. Now he was standing with his dead wife staring up at his children's mansion preparing to "occupy them elsewhere." If Mikael's sentimental side had not been toned down after centuries of hunting his own children, he might have passed out from the shock.

Esther huffed and stood. "We have a job to do, Mikael, chop chop!" Mikael stared after his wife.

"And why are we obeying?" he asked lightly as he fell into step beside her.

Esther's gaze remained focused ahead as she answered, "Because I need to rectify my error." Mikael made no argument as he followed after his wife.

TVDTVDTVDTVDTVD

The Guardians had spent so long searching for their master, that they weren't quite sure what to do with themselves now that He was back. Sven and Gerald were engrossed in ESPN, watching some sport or another that Mabel hadn't bothered to try to figure out what it was. She and her sister had made a trip to the grocery store earlier, because apparently these vampires did not have much else in their kitchen besides blood. It had only been a little over an hour since their master had disappeared, and they were already beginning to feel lost.

Tatia had not been seen since then either, since she had holed herself up in her self-designated bedroom. The Guardians didn't know what exactly the hybrid was doing, but Tatia was not one for doing what was expected of her.

At that moment, the door burst open and Mshiagi was suddenly standing in the middle of the large parlor, brooding. Sven jumped in shock and hurriedly switched the television off, and Gerald leapt up and tried to make it look as if he had been doing something productive. Evangeline and Mabel came in from the kitchen where they were attempting to prepare dinner, Mabel wiping her soapy hands on a dishtowel and Evangeline trying to wipe the sweat from her forehead. They were not aware that using the oven when it was so hot was a very terrible way to cool the house down.

Mshiagi did not look at any of them as he swiftly strode over to the wine cabinet in the far corner of the room and began rummaging through it. "I have a job for you, Sven and Gerald," he called without looking up. Gerald and Sven shared a wide-eyed look, hoping that it wasn't some kind training exercise. Their master could come up with the most harebrained exercises that seemed to serve no purpose other than amusing him.

"Yes, Master?" Sven spoke up first, his voice timid. He slowly stood up and turned to face his master's back. He realized with a start that Mshiagi must have went shopping, for he was dressed in typical modern-teen garb. His windbreaker was dark blue, and his blue jeans were faded and quite possibly had holes in them. _Now where would he have gotten any American currency_? Sven thought to himself, hoping his master hadn't stolen. The boy's sense of morality was not the same as his children's.

"There are a few humans in this town I wish to protect," Mshiagi continued. "They are both heavily involved in the Dark, and it is not safe. They clearly do not know what they are getting themselves into. I want you to find them and bring them here, by force if you must."

Sven and Gerald shared another look. Their master had used kidnapping as a form of protection many times before he had disappeared. Tatia had told them that he had used it for centuries, as long as she had known him. Mshiagi seemed to truly believe in the "end justifies the means" philosophy.

"Are you sure that is wise, Master?" Sven asked almost fearfully. Questioning Mshiagi's decisions was inadvisable and sometimes downright dangerous. The normally obedient Guardian only did so because he truly did believe it was an unwise decision.

Mshiagi slowly turned and stood, facing Sven with a hard look in his eyes. Beneath his windbreaker he wore a simple black t-shirt with a picture of a thumbs-up on it. _Where has the sense of fashion of young people gone_? Sven grumbled to himself. Mshiagi's jeans did indeed have a few intentional holes in them.

"You dare question me?" Mshiagi growled, his voice taking on that steely edge that could terrify the strongest soul. His eyes grew bluer and his body began to pulse with power, although it was muted by the dark clothing. Sven had to turn his head away it was so bright.

"I mean no disrespect, Master!" Sven cried miserably.

Evangeline decided to step in and assist, something she did often whether it was wanted or not. "Random disappearances of humans could warrant police intervention, sir," she stated coolly. "It would draw unnecessary attention to this area if we kidnap even a few humans. I am not so sure that method is any longer advisable."

Mshiagi turned his gaze on her, and Evangeline took a step back in uncertainty. It amazed her just how dangerous the color blue could seem when it was Mshiagi's eyes blazing with power.

"Little girl," Mshiagi spoke in a low voice that sounded like rumbling of thunder, "if you do not step down and silence yourself this instant, I shall have to become very unpleasant." Evangeline had to use every ounce of her willpower to hold his fierce gaze. Her body was beginning to tremble and her legs were in danger of giving out beneath her.

Finally, she could hold out no longer and turned, dashing from the room. A door slammed as she escaped.

Mshiagi turned back to Sven and Gerald as if nothing had happened, his eyes now their normal shade of blue. "I gave you an order," he reminded them smoothly, his tone neutral once more. "It is your choice whether or not to obey it. But, if you do not, the punishment will be severe."

Sven decided that the humans' reaction was the least of his worries at the moment. He grabbed Gerald's arm and towed him out the front door. "We will be back as soon as possible!" Sven called over his shoulder, struggling to calm his frantically beating heart, as they disappeared out the door, pulling it shut behind them.

Mshiagi sighed and glanced over his shoulder in the direction that Evangeline had gone. "Stay here," he told Mabel. He looked as if he might go after Evangeline before he turned and flashed up the stairs instead. Mabel bit her lip, wanting desperately to go after her sister but terrified to disobey.

Tatia glanced up at her master's entrance and smiled. She opened her mouth to say something, but Mshiagi was suddenly in front of her, putting a finger to her lips. "I have a task for you," he said under his breath.

Tatia looked confused as she blinked up at him. "What is it, Master?" She could not remember the last time she had seen her master so nervy. He was shuffling from foot to foot and not looking at her. She noted his wardrobe change and was glad that he had thought to blend into the modern world. He did not always bother.

"I want you to find somebody," he finally said. "She is a vampire and she is currently in Chicago." Tatia raised an eyebrow. "Yes, I know, you were just there. I need you to go back and find her."

"You want me to find a vampire," she repeated. "Any particular reason?" Mshiagi only shrugged. "Do you have a name?" Mshiagi tilted his head at her and smiled.

Tatia sighed. "You do but you're not going to tell me?" Mshiagi's smile widened. "May I ask why?"

"You will know when you find her," was his only answer.

"You'd better get going, princess," Mshiagi said chirpily after a moment, bending down to peck her forehead.

Before Tatia could reply, he was gone. "He's definitely losing brain cells," she muttered under her breath as she trudged over to her suitcase to pack.

Mshiagi came back down the stairs, looking distracted. "Stay here," he told Mabel as he flashed out the door.

"Seriously?" Mabel muttered after he was gone.

Mshiagi easily sensed Evangeline's aura. He found her sitting on the ground with her knees pulled up to her chest. Her short shorts did little to conceal her body, and Mshiagi had to keep himself from staring. At least her t-shirt came up high.

She did not even glance up as he settled down beside her. "Hello, love," he greeted, putting an arm around her and drawing her to his side. Evangeline made a small noise and turned into him, pressing her face to his chest.

The boy clucked under his breath as Evangeline practically scrambled onto his lap. He had put one of his legs up, one arm resting atop it. He easily held Evangeline's weight with the other arm, staring out over the lake. He cocked his head, admiring its beauty.

Evangeline reveled in his warmth, his aura soothing her. Her master could be cruel, but he never failed to reassert himself as her father and creator. The Guardians might address the boy as "Master," but he was truly more like a father. He might technically be only fifteen, but his mind was millennia old.

She and the others stayed with him no matter how cruel he could be because they knew he loved them. He might almost never show it, but moments like this reaffirmed it. Mshiagi need not say anything: His mere presence did all of the talking.

"Your numbers have been severely reduced," Mshiagi said, gently disentangling Evangeline from him. He pulled her to her feet as he stood and began to lead her back to the house. Evangeline knew he expected no response and kept silent, waiting for him to continue.

"There are many here who have been touched by the Dark," Mshiagi continued. "And many of those have passed on." Evangeline slowly nodded when he glanced to her.

"And you are going to bring them back?" she asked mildly. One of Mshiagi's favorite things to do was pulling people from the Other Side and giving them a second chance at life as a Guardian. Mabel and Evangeline had not been turned that way, but Sven had. He had been attacked and killed by a vampire. Evangeline remembered the day that Mshiagi had brought the young man back and given him his second chance. Sven owed Mshiagi his very meaning, for he, like most who passed on, had not been at peace. Life on the Other Side was no life at all, and very few passed on to the Other Place, the plane beyond the Other Side where souls at peace passed on.

"We will begin once Sven and Gerald return," Mshiagi told her as they approached the house.

This would either be very good or very bad, Evangeline knew. If only she were psychic so that she could know which. Not all spirits appreciated being brought back.

**AN: I hope it will not be long until I can update again! As I said before, reviews fuel my drive to write, and I could use it right now! Tell me what you thought. Give me some feedback! I know exactly where I'm going with this story, but I'm having trouble getting there. Thanks for reading!**


	15. Chapter 15

**To **_**nessafly**_**: Thank you for reviewing again! There will be a lot more focus on him in upcoming chapters and the sequel will revolve around him.**

**To **_**JennyMikaelson**_**: I never said it was E.J. he was going to kidnap. *grins evilly* I can't say if Katherine will make an appearance! I haven't started classes yet, but I can imagine I won't have a lot of time to write on this once they do. Thanks for reviewing!**

**To **_**kadienewberg**_**: Thank you! So, basically, I can make you ship him with just about anybody? **** I'm so glad you like him! I was hoping nobody would hate him for treating Caroline the way he did. Did you mean you don't want me to kill the Originals or create a love triangle? Neither one will happen!**

**AN: I can't believe I'm updating today. I'm going to make this short and quick. Thank you to everybody who reviewed and to everybody for reading!**

**Disclaimer: Reference previous disclaimers.**

"What was that about?" Elena asked Elijah after a beat of silence. She had seen Rebekah break down before, but nothing like that. The pure terror on the Original's face had been absolutely terrifying. It was distracting from the fact that her boyfriend had had a child by another girl, that was for sure.

"She was just overreacting," Elijah mumbled, turning away from them all and strolling away. "I need a drink." He almost never indulged in alcohol with the purpose of escaping reality, but he reasoned that this was a perfect excuse.

Finn watched after his brother before returning his attention to Elena. "Rebekah has always been a bit of a drama queen."

"A spell!" Bonnie suddenly exclaimed. "That's what I need!" Elena hurried after her friend as Bonnie scampered away. "I just need my grimoire!"

"I have one upstairs in my room!" E.J. called after the witch, descending the stairs. Bonnie froze and spun around, staring at her from across the room. "What, is that weird?"

"Which one is it?" Bonnie asked, ignoring the question and hurrying over to the staircase, Elena still following her. The doppelganger had decided to keep her friend in sight until Bonnie stopped acting so weird. And becoming possessed and spouting off nonsense would be wonderful, too.

"Third door on the left," E.J. replied as Bonnie and Elena hurried past her. "You can't miss it. The door's open and it looks like the room exploded." Elena paused for a beat and stared down at E.J., holding onto the stair rail. "Don't ask," E.J. snapped.

Elena nodded as she continued up the stairs after her friend.

Once they were gone, E.J. turned imploring eyes on her uncles. "Okay, as you probably know," E.J. began, "I do not speak whatever language Rebekah was speaking back there. What did she say?"

"When?" Kol asked, cracking a smirk. E.J. ignored him since she had figured out long ago that Kol cracked jokes when he was suffering from strong emotions. Terror was a fairly strong emotion, after all.

Finn reached back and whacked his youngest brother on the back of the head. "You really need to stop speaking for a day or two," he growled, turning his attention back to his niece. He didn't know if he would ever get used to thinking of E.J. as his little sister's daughter. Or thinking of Rebekah even _having_ a daughter!

"_Djöfullin Veiðimaður _means 'Devil Hunter_,'" _Finn explained. E.J.'s eyes widened in alarm, and Finn put up a hand to calm her.

Niklaus jumped in, "It's a story our mother used to tell us." Amazingly, the hybrid did not even flinch at mentioning his mother. "Back then, it was meant to comfort," he continued. "The Devil Hunter only hunted those of the Dark, you know?"

E.J. understood his meaning immediately. "And we are of the Dark," she muttered.

"It is only a legend," Finn broke in, shooting his younger brother a scathing look. "Rebekah just thought that kid was him." Why some boy was in E.J.'s room, Finn didn't know, and it bothered him. But that boy being the Devil Hunter? That was just absurd.

E.J. frowned. "The kid didn't seem like a Devil Hunter, or whatever," she said.

Niklaus raised an eyebrow. "What did he seem like?" E.J. shrugged. "There you go." E.J. glared. "What?"

Damon had been standing by calmly while the Originals and their little pet made small talk, but at the mention of something called the "Devil Hunter," he decided that it would be best if he and his brother made themselves scarce.

"That would be our cue to leave," he suddenly declared, grabbing his brother by the arm and trying to drag him to the door.

"I'm not leaving E.J.!" Stefan snarled, yanking his arm from his brother's grasp and stomping over to stand with the Originals and E.J.

Damon turned around and glared at his brother. "We're going home, little brother," he growled. "Don't make me come get you."

Stefan glared at his brother. "I'm not leaving my daughter, Damon."

"We are not doing this right now!" the elder Salvatore snapped, throwing his arms up. "We are going to go home and talk about this like civilize—" He suddenly froze and seemed to just register his brother's statement. "Wait, what?"

Stefan ignored his brother. "I'm not going, Damon, and you can't make me."

Damon was still trying to process his brother's words. "What did you just say, Stefan?" He was giving his brother a hard look, but Stefan wasn't even looking at him.

"Are you all right?" Stefan asked E.J., whose eyes were on Damon. She had just realized what Stefan being her father meant. Damon came with the territory.

"I think Damon's confused, Daddy," E.J. piped up just to see Damon's reaction.

She was not disappointed. The elder Salvatore's left eyebrow began to twitch and his look had morphed into a hybrid of horrified and utterly shocked.

Stefan finally remembered something, something very important. "Ohhh," he said, laughing nervously. "I didn't tell you yet, did I?" Damon turned his gaze to him, his eyes slowly blinking.

Stefan sped over to his brother and took him by the arm, slowly leading him over to stand with the others. "I'm not really sure how to say this, Damon," Stefan began nervously, "but E.J. is mine and Rebekah's daughter."

At the Original's name, Damon's composure broke and he began cussing his dead heart out. He smashed a few decorative vases before he got himself back under control.

Once he was no longer in danger of strangling his brother, Damon sped back over and grabbed Stefan by his shirtfront. "Are you trying to tell me," Damon growled, "that you and Rebekah had that little brat together?" Stefan nodded robotically.

"Don't act so horrified, Damon," E.J. taunted, grinning. She was still shook up from her confrontation with the boy and unnerved by Rebekah's reaction to him, but she could _not_ miss the chance to needle the elder vampire. At least she now knew that he was definitely older than she was. "Or Uncle Finn and Uncle Kol will have to calm you down, right, fellas?" Finn gave her a disapproving look, but Kol smirked.

Damon's head snapped to her. "Hey!" he snapped. "Why do they get 'Uncle' and I just get 'Damon'?" He wasn't sure why he cared, but he felt he should be offended. After all, he had put up with this girl for two days and had taken very good care of her! Well, apart from those times he'd threatened her, cussed at her, or manhandled her. Yeah, apart from those, he had been the perfect guardian!

Okay, he had been a total dick. And now he was being told that this girl was his brother's daughter. His niece. He was torn between slapping Stefan and dragging both his little brother and his newfound niece back home.

E.J. quirked up an eyebrow. "Why do you care?" she mocked. "Maybe because they aren't total dicks?"

Kol looked hurt. "I'm not a 'dick'?"

E.J. turned to him and shook her head. "Nah, you're a bastard."

Kol looked mollified. "Will have to do, I guess."

Elijah suddenly appeared, holding a half full glass of bourbon in his hand. He looked from his brothers, to his niece, to the Salvatores, processing what he was seeing. "I gather that you have informed Damon of E.J.'s parentage," he quipped, "and he did not take it so well?" Finn nodded.

Elijah slowly approached Damon and held out the rest of his glass. Without hesitation, the younger vampire snatched it from his hand and downed the rest of his glass. "I think I'll go make another one," Elijah offered. "Would you like one?" Damon nodded frantically. "It's quite a shock, isn't it?" Elijah asked as he took Damon by the hand and towed him away.

Before anything could be said or done further, Bonnie and Elena came stampeding down the stairs, Bonnie holding E.J.'s grimoire open as she came. "This should do it!" she panted. She hurried into the rough middle of the foyer and chanted some gibberish that E.J. didn't understand.

Bonnie snapped the grimoire shut once she was done. "That spell will keep any paranormal person from entering into the house without invitation," Bonnie babbled to Elena as she headed back toward E.J. "A little modification from vampires, and voila! See?"

"Uh huh," Elena mumbled, pulling her hair up into a ponytail as they walked.

Finn sped over and took Bonnie by the arm, staring deep into her eyes. "How do you know that it will work?" he demanded, his tone cold.

Bonnie met his gaze head on. "It's more than just a spell," she replied. "It's a process that creates a natural barrier that nobody with any touch of magic on them can cross."

The minute the words left her mouth, Bonnie realized what she had just said. "Which includes everybody in this house," she mumbled.

"I'll check it out," Elena offered, turning and trotting toward the front door. Everybody watched in anticipation as Elena stepped out of the large, glass-paned double doors and stood on the other side of the doorsill for a few seconds.

"Here we go!" Elena called in to them as she cautiously stepped over the doorsill. Once she was back inside the house, everybody let out a collective sigh of relief.

"It apparently does not apply to those in the house when the spell is cast," Bonnie informed Finn, glaring up at him. Finn met her fierce gaze easily, and Bonnie finally had to look away. Not even she was brave enough to face down an Original.

After a beat, Kol spoke up, "Has anybody seen Nik?" Finn spun around, his eyes scanning the room for his immediate younger brother. "Thanks, Finn, I hadn't bothered to check!" Kol called to him.

Finn ignored him. "E.J.?" he asked more sharply than he'd intended.

E.J. shrugged as if to say "How should I know?" "I didn't even realize he was gone," she said.

"He'd better be in the house," Finn grumbled, spinning on his heel and marching toward the parlor. He needed a drink, too. All of this on top of dealing with the stress of trying to catch up on nine hundred years of history was giving him a migraine.

Rebekah's room had become her sanctuary, the only place in the house where she truly found solace. She had not bothered to change Niklaus's decorating scheme, since her brother had proved to know her tastes very well. The walls were painted a soft cream and the furniture was a light-wooded oak. An exquisite Persian rug separated Rebekah's colossal king-sized canopy bed with the pale-pink bedspread from the large stone fireplace. She too had a balcony, but her doors were closed due to the heat.

She lay stretched across her bed on her stomach, face buried in a fashion magazine. It was a distraction at best, but the knot in her stomach would not come undone. She had not been upstairs for very long (she really wasn't certain of the time that had passed), but she still felt as if she should have calmed down by now.

She had made a fool of herself in front of Stefan, who had once been the love of her life, his obnoxious brother, that hideous doppelganger girl, and her daughter. Breaking down in front of E.J. once had been bad enough, twice was unforgivable. The girl needed to believe that Rebekah was strong and could handle anything. How could she ever trust her if she kept falling apart?

No matter how many times she admonished herself to pull herself together, her thoughts kept flashing back to those boy's eyes and she would fall into panic again.

There was a gentle knock on her door and she started, flipping herself over and sitting up, scooting to the end of her bed. Before calling out, she closed her eyes to sense for who was at the door and, once she knew who it was, didn't bother trying to make herself look presentable. He had seen her in worse states before.

"Go away, Nik!" she bellowed, hopping down from her bed and trotting into her bathroom. Naturally, her big brother ignored her and came in anyway, the door clicking shut behind him. She closed the bathroom door behind her, nearly in sync with Niklaus, and shuffled over to her vanity and her frameless mirror.

It was as wide as the vanity and nearly reached the ceiling. She sighed as she tried to smooth down her hair and turned her faucet on to cold. She heard soft footsteps approaching the door and her brother let himself in.

"I thought I told you to go away," she snapped without turning around. There was no need since she could see her brother's reflection in the large mirror. Niklaus leaned against the door and studied her reflection in the mirror, face neutral.

"I am going to take a shower," Rebekah informed him, flipping the faucet off, and, without warning, yanked her red tank top over her head. Her brother did not even flinch and she rolled her eyes. Modesty had not been impressed upon them as children and her brother had seen her naked many times, and she him. She would have appreciated some privacy, but she could make do with his presence if he was being obstinate.

"What do you want?" she growled, turning to face her brother, folding her arms to hide her pink-and-black-zebra-striped bra from his sight. Niklaus quirked an eyebrow up at her and she scowled, unfolding her arms and shimmying out of her yoga pants.

"Why are you still here?" she snapped as she wadded her clothing up into a pile and set it beside the shower.

"It is all right to be afraid, Bekky," Niklaus finally spoke, gazing at her as he shifted slightly to face her better. "Bekky" was a name that only Niklaus called her, his pet name for her. It was a hated nickname, since it seemed so childish, but it was also sweet.

As much as she would love to, she could not trust her brother. He had killed their mother in a blind rage and had daggered her in a moment of panic. He had hunted down and daggered her others brothers, and done who-knew-what else. He simply could not be trusted.

She was now blinking rapidly to stem the flow of tears from her eyes, opening the frosted glass shower door to turn the water on. Never had she been so thankful the glass was not clear. Without looking back on her brother, she stepped into the shower with her underclothes still on, shut the door, and quickly finished undressing herself once she was inside.

Niklaus watched as the door opened slightly and his sister deposited the remainder of her clothing on top of the others. "You can't avoid this forever, little sister!" he called to her, annoyance beginning to beat out worry. Why was his baby sister so difficult?

"I'm not leaving until you talk to me!" he continued.

"And I'm not coming out until you leave!" Rebekah snapped back.

"I will come in there if you're more than fifteen minutes!" he threatened.

"You do and Lijah will pulverize you!"

Niklaus hated that she was right. Elijah advocated modesty rigidly and would not stand for his brother invading their sister's privacy. "He wouldn't be too thrilled with you undressing in front of me either!" he shot back.

"Go $*&# yourself!" The water continued to pound, making it harder to keep up a conversation with his sister. He really should leave her alone, but he was stubborn, a trait he shared with his sister. A trait that he had once believed he had inherited from Mikael.

He shoved those thoughts aside as he pushed away from the doorframe. "Fine then!" If Rebekah wanted to be difficult, he could be twice as difficult! "I'll just rummage through all of your girl stuff until you come out."

"It's your eyes!" Rebekah replied. Niklaus glared in the direction of the shower and turned the sink on, splashing his face with water.

Niklaus was trying to come up with another threat to throw at his sister when he sensed a presence behind him. He spun around and took a step back.

The woman standing behind him was taller than he. Her slender body was clothed in dark-denim shorts and a purple tank top. Her coffee-brown skin was deliciously soft and Niklaus found himself admiring her curves. Her dark hair was pulled up into a long ponytail, her dark, penetrating eyes staring at him.

She pursed her plump lips and suddenly blew a kiss at him. Niklaus's eyes widened when he felt a tugging in his gut, and he suddenly found himself back in his sister's bedroom. He leapt up in a panic and sprinted for the bathroom door, but it was locked.

"Rebekah!" He pounded on the door and yanked on it with all of his considerable strength.

It did not budge. "Rebekah!" Either his sister was ignoring him or couldn't hear him over the shower. Considering her hypersensitive hearing, he was betting the former.

This could not be good. Where was a sledgehammer when you needed one? He dashed from the room to locate one of his brothers. Whoever that woman had been, he did not trust her alone in a room with his baby sister!

No matter how hot she was!

TVDTVDTVDTVDTVD

Pandora breathed a sigh of relief once he was gone, closing her eyes and focusing on changing her attire. She had hoped that her appearance would distract the hybrid long enough to allow her to dispose of him.

She needed to speak with the girl alone.

She was now dressed in a simple white shift that hugged her frame, much more comfortable than the shorts and tank top.

The shower suddenly shot off and Pandora heard a sigh from inside it. "Okay, fine, Nik," came the vampire's voice. "I'll talk to you now, if you promise not to be an ass." A pause. "Can you get me a towel, please? I, uh, forgot to grab one."

Pandora swiftly turned on her heel and quickly located the built-in linen closet. Rebekah must have heard her footsteps. "Nik?" she asked hesitantly. "Is that you?" The shower door jiggled for a moment before stopping. "Who's out there?"

She must have sensed that Pandora's footsteps were lighter than the hybrid's. Pandora opened the linen closet and took out two towels, trotting back toward the shower. She opened the door and passed them to the girl inside, who cautiously took them.

"I don't know who you are," the girl called, "but this is seriously twisted." She paused. "E.J.?"

Pandora did not answer.

After a few minutes, the door opened once more and the vampire snatched her clothing pile up from the floor. It closed again with a snap and Pandora settled back to wait.

When Rebekah finally did step out, her hair was wrapped up with one of the towels, the soft blue one, and her clothing looked damp in places. Changing in a recently used shower was a bad idea, but clearly the girl was not going to step out knowing that somebody was in the bathroom with her.

Rebekah frowned when she saw Pandora, looking her up and down. "Who are you?" she snapped, her tone dangerous.

Pandora smiled. "My name is Pandora," she introduced herself smoothly. "And I believe you have already met my son?"

Rebekah stared at her, blinking slowly. "Huh?" she huffed after a moment.

Pandora took a step forward and took one of Rebekah's hands in hers. "There are things you still need to know," she said softly. "I am going to take you to one who can tell you."

Rebekah glared. "Look, lady. I don't know who you are but—Holy *&#%!"

Pandora had only fazed a Living person to the Other Side one other time, and that had been her last time. She had sworn to never do it again, but this was a special case. She could have told the girl herself, but she felt somebody Rebekah knew and had once loved should do the honors.

Rebekah looked around the Other Side in fright. "What the *(^% is going on?!" she demanded. "Where the hell am I?!"

"You're on the Other Side, Rebekah." Rebekah spun around and her eyes widened.

Gloria smiled at her. "I have some things to tell you, darling," the witch said sadly. "Perhaps I can finally find peace if I do."

Rebekah was definitely not in Kansas anymore.

**AN: I have no clue when I'll update again! Review if you'd like and spur me on to continue working on this. Thanks for reading!**


	16. Chapter 16

**AN: First off, I am very sorry it's taken me so long to update! College life can be a little crazy at times. I've had this chapter written for a long time, but I have no idea how to pick this story back up again after not even looking at it in so long. I was a little afraid to update. I can't really explain it. Anyway, to save time, I won't address the reviews individually, but I will send out a huge thank-you to everyone who reviewed. It's you guys that eventually force me to update. I hope you all enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Reference previous disclaimers.**

_Previously . . ._

_Niklaus was trying to come up with another threat to throw at his sister when he sensed a presence behind him. He spun around and took a step back._

_ The woman standing behind him was taller than he. Her slender body was clothed in dark-denim shorts and a purple tank top. Her coffee-brown skin was deliciously soft and Niklaus found himself admiring her curves. Her dark hair was pulled up into a long ponytail, her dark, penetrating eyes staring at him._

_ She pursed her plump lips and suddenly blew a kiss at him. Niklaus's eyes widened when he felt a tugging in his gut, and he suddenly found himself back in his sister's bedroom. He leapt up in a panic and sprinted for the bathroom door, but it was locked._

_ "Rebekah!" He pounded on the door and yanked on it with all of his considerable strength._

_ It did not budge. "Rebekah!" Either his sister was ignoring him or she couldn't hear him over the shower. Considering her hypersensitive hearing, he was betting the former._

_ This could not be good. Where was a sledgehammer when he needed one? He dashed from the room to locate one of his brothers. Whoever that woman had been, he did not trust her alone in a room with his baby sister!_

_ No matter how hot she was!_

_TVDTVDTVDTVDTVD_

_ Pandora breathed a sigh of relief once he was gone, closing her eyes and focusing on changing her attire. She had hoped that her appearance would distract the hybrid long enough to allow her to dispose of him._

_ She needed to speak with the girl alone._

_ She was now dressed in a simple white shift that hugged her frame, much more comfortable than the shorts and tank top._

_ The shower suddenly shut off and Pandora heard a sigh from inside it. "Okay, fine, Nik," came the vampire's voice. "I'll talk to you now, if you promise not to be an ass." A pause. "Can you get me a towel, please? I, uh, forgot to grab one."_

_ Pandora swiftly turned on her heel and quickly located the built-in linen closet. Rebekah must have heard her footsteps. "Nik?" she asked hesitantly. "Is that you?" The shower door jiggled for a moment before stopping. "Who's out there?"_

_ She must have sensed that Pandora's footsteps were lighter than the hybrid's. Pandora opened the linen closet and took out two towels, trotting back toward the shower. She opened the door and passed them to the girl inside, who cautiously took them._

_ "I don't know who you are," the girl called, "but this is seriously twisted." She paused. "E.J.?"_

_ Pandora did not answer._

_ After a few minutes, the door opened once more and the vampire snatched her clothing pile up from the floor. It closed again with a snap and Pandora settled back to wait._

_ When Rebekah finally did step out, her hair was wrapped up with one of the towels, the soft blue one, and her clothing looked damp in places. Changing in a recently used shower was a bad idea, but clearly the girl was not going to step out knowing that somebody was in the bathroom with her._

_ Rebekah frowned when she saw Pandora, looking her up and down. "Who are you?" she snapped, her tone dangerous._

_ Pandora smiled. "My name is Pandora," she introduced herself smoothly. "And I believe you have already met my son?"_

_ Rebekah stared at her, blinking slowly. "Huh?" she huffed after a moment._

_ Pandora took a step forward and took one of Rebekah's hands in hers. "There are things you still need to know," she said softly. "I am going to take you to one who can tell you."_

_ Rebekah glared. "Look, lady. I don't know who you are but—Holy *&#%!"_

_ Pandora had only fazed a Living person to the Other Side one other time, and that had been her last time. She had sworn to never do it again, but this was a special case. She could have told the girl herself, but she felt somebody Rebekah knew and had once loved should do the honors._

_ Rebekah looked around the Other Side in fright. "What the *(^% is going on?!" she demanded. "Where the hell am I?!"_

_ "You're on the Other Side, Rebekah." Rebekah spun around and her eyes widened._

_ Gloria smiled at her. "I have some things to tell you, darling," the witch said sadly. "Perhaps I can finally find peace if I do."_

_ Rebekah was definitely not in Kansas anymore._

Whatever Rebekah had pictured the Other Side to be, it was not this. The world around her blurred, colors melding together and shapes becoming indefinable. She stood in her bathroom, but when she reached out her hand to set it on the vanity's counter, it passed through.

Rebekah sucked in a breath and held back a scream. This could not be happening. This could not be happening! THIS COULD NOT BE HAPPENING! She was reaching panic mode when she reached her hand out once more and it met a solid surface.

She blinked her eyes open and stared at her hand, which was splayed against cold, damp stone. She slowly turned to find that the wall sloped down before curving smoothly into an ovular shape. Lit torches were mounted around the small cave, casting a warm amber glow around. A rug that looked to be woven from heather and long grass covered the floor and a pile of straw and enormous banana leaves in the corner appeared to be a bed.

Rebekah continued to explore the small cave and located shelves carved directly into the cave wall that were stocked with dried out fruit, vegetables, and stacks of salted meat.

"What do you think?" Rebekah spun around at the voice, gasping in fright, her hand over her heart.

Pandora stood behind her, gazing at her with alluring dark eyes that drew Rebekah in. Her aura was hard for Rebekah to place. It was not comforting and pure as the strange boy's had been. Hers was alluring and exotic, mysterious. She made Rebekah wonder and question things she had never bothered to question before.

"Where is Gloria?" she asked suddenly. When she had first entered, the witch had greeted her. And then . . . . It was hazy. She couldn't seem to remember, and she certainly did not remember coming to this cave. Where had she been before this?

Pandora merely smiled at her, her white shift glowing orange in the torchlight. "The Other Side can have that effect on us," she murmured, her voice low and melodic. "We lose track of time and reality. Already you are feeling its effects."

Rebekah blinked and groaned, turning away from the strange woman. Her head was beginning to hurt, and she realized that she still had her hair wrapped in a towel. Her red tank top was spotted with wet marks and her dark yoga pants were chaffing against her legs they were so damp. Changing inside the shower after using it had not been her brightest idea, but what could she have done with a stranger in her bathroom?

Her bare feet rubbed against the cold stone floor. Rebekah shivered and leapt neatly onto the rug, contact confirming her earlier assessment of its makeup.

"Where am I?" Rebekah demanded, rounding on the woman. She glared hatefully as she reached up to yank her towel from her head, rubbing her hair as she pulled it off.

Pandora watched her with interest, taking a seat in a large chair that looked as if it had been carved right where it stood. Wait, where had that come from? Rebekah had_ not_ seen that chair before.

Rebekah huffed and turned away, combing her fingers through her hair to try to untangle the knots. She tossed her towel aside and began worrying her hair with her hands. She could feel Pandora's gaze on her back.

"Staring is rude!" Rebekah snapped as she spun around.

She was now standing in an open field, the edge of a forest visible afar off. Jagged mountain peaks rose ahead of her, far enough away to be mere shadows. The grass had been neatly trimmed, and Rebekah could spot flowers popping up in random places.

Pandora was seated cross-legged in the grass, twirling a dandelion in her hands. Smiling up at Rebekah, she nodded at her to speak. She had changed into long, dark-blue leggings; a form-fitting, midnight-blue tunic that fell to her thighs; and dark moccasins. Her long dark hair hung over one shoulder in a thick braid, with colorful beading woven into it.

The change of scenery and Pandora's change of clothing from a nightgown to Indian-style beadwork had Rebekah's head reeling. The Other Side really could give one a headache.

"I used to come here when I was a little girl," Pandora said dreamily, gaze far off somewhere. "My village used to be here, nestled in this little valley. I was happy. But I was young." Her expression darkened and she frowned, pulling her lips into a pout and furrowing her eyebrows. "I was naïve." She lifted her gaze up to Rebekah. "Are you naïve?"

Rebekah was uncertain whether or not she should be offended. "I'm not naïve enough to sit and listen to your life story, if that's what you mean."

Pandora laughed shortly, smiling sadly to herself as she gazed down at the shredded dandelion in her hands. "It is not true what they say," she said softly. Rebekah wasn't sure if she was being spoken to or not, so she just listened. "Beauty does not equal happiness."

"You're freaking gorgeous!" Rebekah snapped irritably. "You must have guys falling over you all the time. How could you _not_ be happy?"

Pandora did not rise to meet the challenge, but her face changed. It morphed into sad and old. Very, very old. Those eyes had seen many things. This woman who looked so young had eyes that looked older than Rebekah could even fathom.

"Do you believe being beautiful makes you happy?" Pandora asked in a low, dangerous voice. Her dark eyes flashed as they lifted up to glare at Rebekah, who took an unconscious step back. "I was the most beautiful girl in my village. And then I became an outcast, a reject. All because of my beauty."

Rebekah blinked at her. "I do not follow you."

Pandora suddenly stood and turned away from Rebekah, folding her arms and focusing her gaze on the distant mountains. "There was a boy in my village who found my beauty so enticing that he could not resist."

Rebekah immediately understood. "He forced himself on you."

Pandora's lips tightened and she held her head high. "No," she practically growled. "I was willing. And it ruined my life." She was suddenly towering over Rebekah, dark eyes flashing down on her. "I lost everything. My family had to disown me to protect themselves. The boy I thought loved me turned his back on me. I was an outsider among my own people. The people who had watched me grow up turned me out because of one mistake."

"How could they have possibly known what you did?" Rebekah rolled her eyes. This woman was being a bit melodramatic.

Pandora said nothing, hard eyes never once leaving Rebekah's. The Original glared up at her imposing figure, trying to make herself look tougher. After a time, she began to visibly deflate and she stepped away from the woman.

And then it clicked. "You had a baby."

Pandora's eyes immediately dropped and she looked now to be on the verge of breaking. "And now I do not even have him," she breathed.

She turned away and disappeared without a trace, the world dissolving around Rebekah. The girl screamed and fell down, throwing up her arm in a futile attempt to protect herself.

"Rebekah, what is wrong?" Slowly, Rebekah raised herself up and blinked up at the speaker. She was back in her home, her bedroom to be exact, and Gloria was gazing down at her worriedly.

"Who the hell was that woman?" Rebekah snarled as she climbed awkwardly to her feet.

Gloria's sad smile immediately fell. "You were with Pandora." It was not a question.

Rebekah slowly nodded. "Who is she?" she stubbornly repeated her question.

Gloria bit her lip and slowly shook her head. "Not now, not here," she said. "Another time, Rebekah. Now we must talk about E.J."

Rebekah frowned. "I'm listening."

Gloria sighed and motioned at her friend to follow her as she turned and began walking away. With no other option, Rebekah followed her, albeit reluctantly. They seemed to walk on for some time through what appeared to be a swirling gray cloud that had no end or beginning. It was disconcerting, and Rebekah found herself longing for familiarity. Everything looked the same.

Before she knew what was happening, Gloria had led her through the endless gray fog and into a small, cozy sitting room. Candlelight lit up the room, casting shadows along the walls filled with bookcases. Gloria did not seem surprised by the sudden change, making Rebekah assume that such abrupt travel was normal on the Other Side.

"That was the Tunnel we traveled through," Gloria answered Rebekah's unspoken question. "It exists between the dwelling places of the ghosts here and allows for easy access, and whatnot."

Rebekah could only stare. She had been under the impression that the Other Side was a place where one was wandering the physical world all alone. This place was many things, but that was not one of them. "I do not understand," Rebekah spoke up.

Gloria misinterpreted her question. "I do not see what is so confusing. Think of it as a hallway between the many rooms in a building." At Rebekah's bored glare, Gloria realized that that was not what Rebekah had meant. "Um, I'm sorry. What don't you understand?" The witch sounded genuinely confused, making Rebekah sigh in annoyance.

"This place," Rebekah grumbled. "It's not like what I thought it would be. Is this what I have to look forward to when I die?"

Gloria smiled fondly at her friend, understanding where the vampire was coming from (and choosing not to comment on Rebekah dying, which the witch had always believed to be impossible). "It can all be a little much to take in at first," she began. "The Other Side is not a simple place, Rebekah. It has many what could be called 'layers,' and we ghosts simultaneously exist in these layers. One layer is the border of our plane and the Physical Plane. That is the experience of utter loneliness. Most young spirits never stray far from the border since they always have regrets of their lives and want to keep an eye on loved ones. As time goes on, they begin to further explore the realm and discover the other layers."

Rebekah scrunched up her nose. "What 'layer' are we in, then?"

"I can't give you a number, hon!" Gloria laughed. "It doesn't exactly work like that. I can tell you that you are in the deepest part of the Other Side where mind truly is over matter. This is my dwelling place, and I can change it at my very whim."

Some things began to make sense for Rebekah. "Is that what the crazy lady was doing?"

"Pandora?" Rebekah nodded. "It doesn't work that way, love. Every new time you enter, your dwelling place models itself after your thoughts, but you can't change it whilst you're in it. You shouldn't have been able to witness a change."

Rebekah frowned. "Could Pandora have transported me, then?" Now she was confused. She wanted to know what had just happened to her, and she wanted to know it _now_!

Gloria had to think for a moment before answering. "Pandora can go places in the Other Side that I cannot even touch, Rebekah. It sounds more as if she pulled you into a memory. She's extremely powerful, Bekah. You don't want to mess with her."

Rebekah groaned loudly and plopped into the matching maroon armchair, separated from Gloria's by only a small coffee table. "Who the heck is this woman anyway, Gloria? She gives me the heebie jeebies."

Gloria had to hide her smile at the childish phrase coming from the Original's lips. Rebekah would not appreciate being laughed at. "I don't honestly know, Rebekah," Gloria answered honestly. "She has the ability to be in both the Physical Plane and this plane. She can go places here and do things that I can't even comprehend. And her power does not stop here. She has influence in the Physical Plane as well, which is something I have never seen."

"You are a young spirit, Gloria," Rebekah suddenly observed. "How are you already so deep into the Other Side?"

Gloria scowled. "Pandora came to me as I was wandering alone near the border, sulking, and dragged me to these deep parts. I could do nothing but submit. And now I've found it's much more enjoyable here than there. Ghosts can interact on this level of the Plane, which can help curb the loneliness."

After a beat of silence, Gloria sighed and reached up a hand to run it through her short, tightly curled hair. "It appears that you are avoiding the matter at hand, my dear." Although the witch was an infant compared to the Original, Gloria had always felt a maternal fondness for Rebekah that could only be explained by the physical age difference. Rebekah might be nearly eleven hundred years old, but, in many ways, she was still a child. Rebekah allowed the familiarity between her and the witch to only go so far, though.

Rebekah scowled. "Then start talking," she growled. Gloria appeared miffed, but wisely kept her thoughts on being growled at by a girl she considered to be a child to herself.

"I suppose you have a lot of questions for me, Rebekah," Gloria finally said with a sigh. "I don't even know where to begin with E.J. There are so many things about your daughter that you do not know, Rebekah. _I_ don't even know everything."

Rebekah frowned and slouched in her chair. "Okay, here's an idea," Rebekah said, annoyed. "How could I possibly have given birth to a daughter without knowing?"

Gloria sighed. "I already explained to E.J., and I heard her give you an abbreviated version."

Rebekah glared, her blue-green eyes narrowing dangerously and her lips curling back into a snarl, though no sound left her lips. The two simply stared at each other for a moment. Finally, Rebekah began in a low voice, "E.J. also said that I had—I mean, that I was 'with' her father, and I got a little distracted at that point. I can't really remember what she said, and I'm not so certain it would matter if I did."

It had been easy for Gloria to tell a half-truth to E.J. without the girl's noticing. E.J. was too trusting for her own good sometimes and tended to take people at face value, especially people she trusted. If E.J. had been paying more attention, she might have noticed the telltale signs that her godmother was not being entirely truthful with her. But the girl was at best unobservant and at worst downright oblivious.

But the Original was different. If Gloria even attempted a half-truth, Rebekah would sense it immediately, and Gloria knew that the vampire's trust in her was on thin ice as it was. If she was too vague, Rebekah would simply demand further explanation.

"I told E.J. that I magically removed her from you after she was conceived and then kept her frozen in a fridge for several years while searching for you. I only placed her within a surrogate because I was uncertain of how long she could survive frozen."

Rebekah gave the witch a hard look. "Why do I feel like you left something out?"

Gloria bit her lip. "I might have," she muttered vaguely. Bringing herself to reveal deeply hidden secrets was not Gloria's strong point. As much as she knew she needed to tell Rebekah—indeed, that Rebekah deserved to know—she felt as if she were tugging on an unyielding door and failing to open it.

"Gloria?" Rebekah asked after a moment, sardonic tone explicit. Rebekah had never been one for suppressing her opinions to spare others' feelings.

Finally, Gloria managed to yank the metaphorical door open a crack. "E.J. was not magically removed." As Rebekah stared at her, eyes wide and blinking slowly, Gloria managed to open the door a little bit further. "Not entirely, anyway. Accessing her was done physically, but she was removed and stored away magically, respectively." Rebekah still only stared. "And, um, I was not the one to do it."

Whatever Rebekah interpreted that to mean, she must not have been bothered by the fact that Gloria was not the perpetrator of the crime. "Tell me, Gloria," Rebekah snarled softly. "Why did you feel the need to remove E.J. in the first place?"

And there was the question that the witch had been dreading. At first, she felt her hold slipping on the door, but she finally put forth a monumental effort and threw it all the way open. Rebekah deserved an explanation. "Because I thought that you could not carry her, Rebekah," she answered softly.

Rebekah's hardened eyes softened marginally, and her gaze shifted to her lap where her hands were interlaced together. She was quiet for so long that Gloria began to fear that the Original was retreating into herself. "Why?" the girl finally asked, voice small and unimposing.

Gloria did not comment on the change of tone. "Because somebody convinced me that you could not." Even to her own ears, the words sounded hollow. She still did not know whether or not the words at that time had been true. Could Rebekah have carried and successfully delivered her daughter? Gloria would never know now, would she?

Rebekah's gaze lifted back up to Gloria and her listless expression morphed into outraged. Gloria had been expecting it, but it was still hard to see. "Do you still believe that?"

Gloria had been expecting Rebekah to demand to know the identity of whoever had told her such a thing. To say the least, she was surprised, and she had to take a minute to seriously consider the question. "Honestly, Rebekah?" she finally answered. "I don't know. Considering the circumstances, I'm inclined to say that the bastard lied to me, but I'm also a little hesitant to say no, because perhaps he didn't."

Now Rebekah looked lost. "Do you know who told you that?" Her tone informed Gloria that she was genuinely asking and not demanding. Gloria smiled a sad little smile at hearing the confusion in the girl's voice.

"I believe you have already met him," she said in answer.

Instead of understanding dawning in the Original's eyes as Gloria had expected, the girl only looked confused. "Huh?" Before Gloria could try to clarify, "You mean Nik?!" Gloria's eyes widened in surprise, but Rebekah seemed to have answered her own question in her mind and interrupted her. "That son of a bitch! Is that why he daggered me?! Because he didn't want me to know I had a daughter? He was probably pissed off that I slept with Stefan! When I get back, I am going to take one of those daggers and shove it up his—!"

"NO!" Gloria finally managed to interrupt. "Niklaus did not even know you _had_ a daughter until today!"

Rebekah finally managed to come to her senses, realizing the ridiculousness of her accusation. As much of a jackass as her brother could be, she knew that not even he would stoop that low. She admitted begrudgingly to herself that her brother truly did love her and, no matter how angry he might be at her, would not wrong her so badly. If anything, when she thought about it, she realized that Niklaus would have been more likely to target Stefan if he'd known.

"Who then?" Rebekah demanded, desperate now. "Mikael?" Now that option made sense. She wouldn't put it below her father to do something of that kind in some twisted form of trying to protect her. That thought was ironic, since he had been hunting her and Niklaus (and earlier Elijah as well, although she wasn't certain about Finn or Kol) since their transition.

Gloria sighed and reached up a hand to run it down her face in frustration. Rebekah did not know many people, but the witch didn't know how long she could sit as the girl crossed names off her mental list. She was not thinking properly, clearly.

When she received no affirmative of her second assumption, Rebekah assumed that she was incorrect again. Actually, now she was ashamed of even suggesting that Gloria would work with her father in such a way. "Um, Elijah?" Now she was struggling. She could see no feasible reason that her brother would do such a dishonorable thing. It was completely out of character for him, but she was running out of options.

"I did not say you knew him well," Gloria finally muttered. She thought that it might be easier to throw the girl a few clues instead of coming right out and saying it. The name had gotten stuck in her throat twice already.

"Damon?" That made sense, if Rebekah thought about it. If the elder Salvatore had discovered that she and Stefan had a child together, then she would not put it past him to do such an abominable thing. Then again, he had never acted as if he knew that E.J. was his niece. Still . . .

"No," Gloria deadpanned.

Now Rebekah was stuck. Her mental list of people old enough to do it (who had been around at that time) was getting smaller. In fact, she could not come up with another name.

"In fact," Gloria suddenly spoke up, "you've only met him once, so I can't really say that you know him at all. I doubt you even know his name, since I would be surprised if he bothered to tell you. He's annoyingly mysterious that way."

As Rebekah stared at the witch, something suddenly clicked in her mind. It made no sense, but she could think of no other person the witch could possibly be referring to. "You mean . . . _Djöfullin Veiðimaður_?"

Gloria blinked twice. "Am I supposed to know what that means?"

Rebekah mentally checked herself. "The Devil Hunter?" she clarified.

Gloria's eyes narrowed. "Er, not helping much."

"The strange glowing boy that attacked me in E.J.'s room?"

"That would be him!" Gloria replied brightly.

"The Devil Hunter convinced you that I could not carry E.J. so you removed me and stuck her in a fridge?"

Gloria looked offended. "I'm assuming that by the 'Devil Hunter,' you are referring to the boy?" Rebekah nodded without her gaze breaking from Gloria's. "And I was not the one who removed E.J. He did. I'm not really sure how he knew about C-sections back then, but whatever. He magically sustained E.J. until I could cryogenically freeze her. Which, by the way, he also told me how to do."

"But why would he do that?" Rebekah asked, her voice a murmur.

Gloria shrugged. "Search me. Maybe he knew that E.J. would be the only person ever born a vampire, or something."

Rebekah's thoughts ground to a halt and she leapt up. "E.J. was _born_ a vampire?!" She was shocked, to say the least. "How is that even possible?!"

Gloria only shrugged again. "She is the child of two vampires. It's really not that illogical if you think about it."

Rebekah dropped back down into her armchair. "Then why is she only fourteen?" she demanded. Nothing this witch was saying was making any sense!

"A vampire attacked her," Gloria replied. "E.J. doesn't really remember it, but that's the only thing I could think of to explain it. Maybe when he drank some of her blood it did something, I don't know."

Before Rebekah could ask any other questions, the world dissolved around her and she found herself yanked back through several layers of the Other Side until she landed in a heap on her porcelain tile bathroom floor.

"Ow," she mumbled, sitting up and rubbing her head.

Gloria whirled around in shock and stood, glaring at the woman standing behind her.

Pandora was expressionless as she stepped forward and took hold of the young witch's shoulder. Gloria winced when her grip became strong enough to crack the bone.

"You have done well, child," Pandora purred.

"So you'll help me?" Gloria squeaked, eyes wide in fright. She still could not decide if she were more afraid of the boy who wanted to end her very existence or the strange woman who frightened her with her very presence.

Pandora smiled, but it was not what Gloria would call pleasant. She did not know whether to feel at ease or terrified as the woman sat her back down in her armchair, hand never leaving her now aching shoulder. "I will keep him from eradicating you, if that is what you mean."

"Yes," Gloria whimpered, sighing in relief when Pandora finally released her.

Pandora shifted to the front of the armchair and bent down before Gloria, leaning into her face. "I only have one more job for you before you will no longer serve any use to me."

Gloria gulped. "What is it?"

Pandora smiled once more and, this time, Gloria had no doubt of the emotion that the action instilled in her. "I will give you your instructions when the time comes," the woman answered in a low voice. "Until then, sit tight, child. Mshiagi cannot reach you here."

And then the woman was gone and Gloria promptly gave in to her overwhelming fear and broke down.

"I am so sorry, E.J.!" she sobbed under her breath as she curled into a tiny ball and tucked herself into the armchair. At one time she had thought nothing could frighten her enough to betray her goddaughter, but she had found something that did. And now she had become a pawn in a game that she did not understand.

And she hated it.

**AN: Yes, I know, it's mostly a filler chapter. I apologize, but there were huge advances in the plot, I promise. I need motivation to pick this story up again, and I'm not sure where to get it. I do remember where I was going with this, but there are so many little things that I have to worry about dealing with, it can be a bit intimidating. I do hope that I will update sooner this time, but I can't make any promises. Please review and tell me what you think even though I know I totally don't deserve them! Hehe, sorry, drama queen moment there. Anyway, thanks a bunch for reading!**


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